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Updated: Apr 5, 2026

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
Published on: December 4, 2017
Anomalous self-diffusion in a freely evolving granular gas near the shearing instability
J Javier Brey1, M J Ruiz-Montero1
1Física Teórica, Universidad de Sevilla, Apartado de Correos 1065, E-41080 Sevilla, Spain.
Abstract:
The self-diffusion coefficient of a granular gas in the homogeneous cooling state is analyzed near the shearing instability. Using mode-coupling theory, it is shown that the coefficient diverges logarithmically as the instability is approached, due to the coupling of the diffusion process with the shear modes. The divergent behavior, which is peculiar in granular gases and disappears in the elastic limit, does not depend on any other transport coefficient. The theoretical prediction is confirmed by molecular dynamics simulation results for two-dimensional systems.
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