Application of the Gillespie algorithm to a granular intruder particle

DOI

10.1088/0305-4470/39/35/001

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

9-1-2006

Publication Title

Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and General

Volume

39

Issue

35

First Page

10947

Last Page

10957

ISSN

3054470

Abstract

We show how the Gillespie algorithm, originally developed to describe coupled chemical reactions, can be used to perform numerical simulations of a granular intruder particle colliding with thermalized bath particles. The algorithm generates a sequence of collision 'events' separated by variable time intervals. As input, it requires the position-dependent flux of bath particles at each point on the surface of the intruder particle. We validate the method by applying it to a one-dimensional system for which the exact solution of the homogeneous Boltzmann equation is known and investigate the case where the bath particle velocity distribution has algebraic tails. We also present an application to a granular needle in a bath of point particles where we demonstrate the presence of correlations between the translational and rotational degrees of freedom of the intruder particle. The relationship between the Gillespie algorithm and the commonly used direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is also discussed. © 2006 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Open Access

Green Accepted

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