Hamiltonian and Brownian systems with long-range interactions: III. The BBGKY hierarchy for spatially inhomogeneous systems
Résumé
We discuss the growth of correlations in systems with weak long-range interactions. Starting from the BBGKY hierarchy, we determine the evolution of the two-body correlation function by using an expansion of the solutions of the hierarchy in powers of 1/N in a proper thermodynamic limit where N goes to infinity. These correlations are responsible for the ''collisional'' evolution of the system beyond the Vlasov regime due to finite N effects. We obtain a general kinetic equation that can be applied to spatially inhomogeneous systems and that takes into account memory effects. These peculiarities are specific to systems with unshielded long-range interactions. For spatially homogeneous systems with short memory time like plasmas, we recover the classical Landau (or Lenard-Balescu) equations. We also compare the time evolution of the two-body correlation function in Hamiltonian and Brownian systems with long-range interactions. An interest of our approach is to develop a formalism that remains in physical space (instead of Fourier space) and that can deal with spatially inhomogeneous systems. This enlightens the basic physics and provides novel kinetic equations with a clear physical interpretation. However, unless we restrict ourselves to spatially homogeneous systems, closed kinetic equations can be obtained only if we ignore some collective effects between particles. General exact coupled equations taking into account collective effects are also given.