Mean-field approach for diffusion of interacting particles

Transition rates of noninteracting quantum particles from the Widom insertion formula

Transition rates among different states in a system of noninteracting quantum particles in contact with a heat reservoir include the factor 1∓n[over ¯]_{i}, with a minus sign for fermions and a plus sign for bosons, where n[over ¯]_{i} is the average occupation number of the final state. It is shown that this factor can be related to the difference of the chemical potential from that of an ideal classical mixture; this difference is formally equivalent to the excess chemical potential in a classical system of interacting particles. Using this analogy, Widom's insertion formula is used in the calculation of transition rates. The result allows an alternative derivation of quantum statistics from the condition that transition rates depend only on the number of particles in the target energy level. Instead, if transition rates depend on the particle number only in the origin level, the statistics of ewkons is obtained; this is an exotic statistics that can be applied to the description of dark energy.

Application of the Widom insertion formula to transition rates in a lattice

We consider diffusion of particles on a lattice in the so-called dynamical mean-field regime (memory effects are neglected). Interactions are local, that is, only among particles at the same lattice site. It is shown that a statistical mechanics analysis that combines detailed balance and Widom's insertion formula allows for the derivation of an expression for transition rates in terms of the excess chemical potential. The rates reproduce the known dependence of self-diffusivity as the inverse of the thermodynamic factor. Soft-core interactions and general forms of the excess chemical potential (linear, quadratic, and cubic with the density) are considered.

Out-of-equilibrium Monte Carlo simulations of a classical gas with Bose-Einstein statistics

Algorithms to determine transition probabilities in Monte Carlo simulations are tested using a system of classical particles with effective interactions which reproduce Bose-Einstein statistics. The system is appropriate for testing different Monte Carlo simulation methods in out-of-equilibrium situations since nonequivalent results are produced. We compare mobility numerical results obtained with transition probabilities derived from Glauber and Metropolis algorithms. Then, we compare these with a recent method, the interpolation algorithm, appropriate for nonequilibrium systems in homogeneous substrata and without phase transitions. The results of mobility obtained from the interpolation algorithm are qualitatively verified with molecular dynamics simulations for low concentrations.

Diffusion in binary mixtures: An analysis of the dependence on the thermodynamic factor

We study the diffusion process in binary mixtures using transition probabilities that depend on a mean-field potential. This approach reproduces the Darken equation, a relationship between the intrinsic and the tracer diffusion coefficients, D_{A} and D_{A}^{*}, through the thermodynamic factor Φ (a function of the derivative of the activity coefficient against the molar fraction). The mean-field approach allows us to go beyond the Darken equation and separately specify the dependence of D_{A} and D_{A}^{*} on the thermodynamic factor. We obtain that Φ appears in the expression for D_{A}^{*}, but the intrinsic diffusivity D_{A} turns out to be independent of Φ. Experimental results taken from the literature on diffusion in metal alloys are consistent with this theoretical prediction.

Mean-field approach to diffusion with interaction: Darken equation and numerical validation

A mean-field theory for diffusion with interaction was introduced in Phys. Rev. E 92, 062118 (2015)PLEEE81539-375510.1103/PhysRevE.92.062118. Interaction effects are represented with a mean-field potential. Here we show that the potential can be directly related to the activity coefficient. In this context, we obtain an alternative derivation of the Darken equation, that relates collective diffusion coefficient and single particle diffusion coefficient (generally different in the presence of interactions). We also carry out a validation test of the model using, as a case study, effective interactions that reproduce Bose-Einstein statistics.

Continuous time random walk with local particle-particle interaction

The continuous time random walk (CTRW) is often applied to the study of particle motion in disordered media. Yet most such applications do not allow for particle-particle (walker-walker) interaction. In this paper, we consider a CTRW with particle-particle interaction; however, for simplicity, we restrain the interaction to be local. The generalized Chapman-Kolmogorov equation is modified by introducing a perturbation function that fluctuates around 1, which models the effect of interaction. Subsequently, a time-fractional nonlinear advection-diffusion equation is derived from this walking system. Under the initial condition of condensed particles at the origin and the free-boundary condition, we numerically solve this equation with both attractive and repulsive particle-particle interactions. Moreover, a Monte Carlo simulation is devised to verify the results of the above numerical work. The equation and the simulation unanimously predict that this walking system converges to the conventional one in the long-time limit. However, for systems where the free-boundary condition and long-time limit are not simultaneously satisfied, this convergence does not hold.

Time-fractional characterization of brine reaction and precipitation in porous media

Brine reaction and precipitation in porous media sometimes occur in the presence of a strong fluid flowing field, which induces the mobilization of the precipitated salts and distorts their spatial distribution. It is interesting to investigate how the distribution responds to such mobilization. We view these precipitates as random walkers in the complex inner space of the porous media, where they make stochastic jumps among locations and possibly wait between successive transitions. In consideration of related experimental results, the waiting time of the precipitates at a particular position is allowed to range widely from short sojourn to permanent residence. Through the model of a continuous-time random walk, a class of time-fractional equations for the precipitate's concentration profile is derived, including that in the Riemann-Liouville formalism and the Prabhakar formalism. The solutions to these equations show the general pattern of the precipitate's spatiotemporal evolution: a coupling of mass accumulation and mass transport. And the degree to which the mass is mobilized turns out to be monotonically correlated to the fractional exponent α. Moreover, to keep the completeness of the model, we further discuss how the interaction among the precipitates influences the precipitation process. In doing so, a time-fractional non-linear Fokker-Planck equation with source term is introduced and solved. It is shown that the interaction among the precipitates slightly perturbs their spatial distribution. This distribution is largely dominated by the brine reaction itself and the interaction between the precipitates and the porous media.

Quantum statistics of classical particles derived from the condition of a free diffusion coefficient

We derive an equation for the current of particles in energy space; particles are subject to a mean-field effective potential that may represent quantum effects. From the assumption that noninteracting particles imply a free diffusion coefficient in energy space, we derive Maxwell-Boltzmann, Fermi-Dirac, and Bose-Einstein statistics. Other new statistics are associated to a free diffusion coefficient; their thermodynamic properties are analyzed using the grand partition function. A negative relation between pressure and energy density for low temperatures can be derived, suggesting a possible connection with cosmological dark energy models.