Physicalkineticsisthe?nalsectionofthecourseoftheoreticalphysics in its standard presentation. It stays at the boundary between g- eral theories and their applications (solid state theory, theory of gases, plasma, and so on), because the treatment of kinetic phenomena always depends on speci?c structural features of materials. On the other hand, the physical kinetics as a part of the quantum theory of macroscopic systems is far from being complete. A number of its fundamental - sues, such as the problem of irreversibility and mechanisms of chaotic responses, are now attracting considerable attention. Other important sections, for example, kinetic phenomena in disordered and/or strongly non-equilibrium systems and, in particular, phase transitions in these systems, are currently under investigation. The quantum theory of m- surements and quantum information processing actively developing in the last decade are based on the quantum kinetic theory. Because a deductive theoretical exposition of the subject is not c- venient, the authors restrict themselves to a lecture-style presentation. Now the physical kinetics seems to be at the stage of development when, according to Newton, studying examples is more instructive than lea- ing rules. In view of these circumstances, the methods of the kinetic theory are presented here not in a general form but as applications for description of speci?c systems and treatment of particular kinetic p- nomena. The quantum features of kinetic phenomena can arise for several r- sons.

This book presents quantum kinetic theory in a comprehensive way. The focus is on density operator methods and on non-equilibrium Green functions. The theory allows to rigorously treat nonequilibrium dynamics in quantum many-body systems. Of particular interest are ultrafast processes in plasmas, condensed matter and trapped atoms that are stimulated by rapidly developing experiments with short pulse lasers and free electron lasers. To describe these experiments theoretically, the most powerful approach is given by non-Markovian quantum kinetic equations that are discussed in detail, including computational aspects.

This book goes beyond the scope of other works in the field with its thorough treatment of applications in a wide variety of disciplines. The third edition features a new section on constants of motion and symmetry and a new appendix on the Lorentz-Legendre expansion.

A thorough examination of kinetic theory and its successes in understanding and describing irreversible phenomena in physical systems.

In recent years kinetic theory has developed in many areas of the physical sciences and engineering, and has extended the borders of its traditional fields of application. New applications in traffic flow engineering, granular media modeling, and polymer and phase transition physics have resulted in new numerical algorithms which depart from traditional stochastic Monte--Carlo methods. This monograph is a self-contained presentation of such recently developed aspects of kinetic theory, as well as a comprehensive account of the fundamentals of the theory. Emphasizing modeling techniques and numerical methods, the book provides a unified treatment of kinetic equations not found in more focused theoretical or applied works. The book is divided into two parts. Part I is devoted to the most fundamental kinetic model: the Boltzmann equation of rarefied gas dynamics. Additionally, widely used numerical methods for the discretization of the Boltzmann equation are reviewed: the Monte--Carlo method, spectral methods, and finite-difference methods. Part II considers specific applications: plasma kinetic modeling using the Landau--Fokker--Planck equations, traffic flow modeling, granular media modeling, quantum kinetic modeling, and coagulation-fragmentation problems. Modeling and Computational Methods of Kinetic Equations will be accessible to readers working in different communities where kinetic theory is important: graduate students, researchers and practitioners in mathematical physics, applied mathematics, and various branches of engineering. The work may be used for self-study, as a reference text, or in graduate-level courses in kinetic theory and its applications.

The study of kinetic equations related to gases, semiconductors, photons, traffic flow, and other systems has developed rapidly in recent years because of its role as a mathematical tool in areas such as engineering, meteorology, biology, chemistry, materials science, nanotechnology, and pharmacy. Written by leading specialists in their respective fields, this book presents an overview of recent developments in the field of mathematical kinetic theory with a focus on modeling complex systems, emphasizing both mathematical properties and their physical meaning. Transport Phenomena and Kinetic Theory is an excellent self-study reference for graduate students, researchers, and practitioners working in pure and applied mathematics, mathematical physics, and engineering. The work may be used in courses or seminars on selected topics in transport phenomena or applications of the Boltzmann equation.

This book presents an up-to-date formalism of non-equilibrium Green's functions covering different applications ranging from solid state physics, plasma physics, cold atoms in optical lattices up to relativistic transport and heavy ion collisions. Within the Green's function formalism, the basic sets of equations for these diverse systems are similar, and approximations developed in one field can be adapted to another field. The central object is the self-energy which includes all non-trivial aspects of the system dynamics. The focus is therefore on microscopic processes starting from elementary principles for classical gases and the complementary picture of a single quantum particle in a random potential. This provides an intuitive picture of the interaction of a particle with the medium formed by other particles, on which the Green's function is built on.

In recent years kinetic theory has developed in many areas of the physical sciences and engineering, and has extended the borders of its traditional fields of application. This monograph is a self-contained presentation of such recently developed aspects of kinetic theory, as well as a comprehensive account of the fundamentals of the theory. Emphasizing modeling techniques and numerical methods, the book provides a unified treatment of kinetic equations not found in more focused works. Specific applications presented include plasma kinetic models, traffic flow models, granular media models, and coagulation-fragmentation problems. The work may be used for self-study, as a reference text, or in graduate-level courses in kinetic theory and its applications.