A numerical study of the general Rayleigh's piston model

Generalized chapman-kolmogorov equation: A unifying approach to the description of anomalous transport in external fields

The generalized Chapman-Kolmogorov equation [V. M. Kenkre, E. W. Montroll, and M. F. Shlesinger, J. Stat. Phys. 9, 45 (1973)] is discussed. It is demonstrated that this equation unifies recently proposed kinetic equations of fractional order that describe anomalous transport in external fields, as well as continuous time random walks. The conditions under which the individual models can be established are discussed.

The Rayleigh model: singular transport theory in one dimension

We present a comprehensive account of the special ‘Rayleigh piston’ model for the spatial and velocity relaxation of an ensemble of labelled test-particles in a one-dimensional heat-bath of particles with identical mass. This model, originally formulated by Rayleigh in 1891 but since largely neglected, is in effect a prototype for all later models in singular particle transport theory and serves to illustrate the mathematical problems associated with the occurrence of singular eigenfunctions and continuous spectra of a scattering operator. Although other idealized scattering models are known, the Rayleigh model remains a unique example of an exactly soluble singular system which, in including conservation laws and time-reversal symmetry in scattering, retains a degree of mechanical realism.