Convergence to equilibrium for granular media equations and their Euler schemes (Q1413679)

The main goal of the paper is to investigate the model equations appropriate for the description of granular media and the polynomial growth problem. To this end a new interacting particle system is proposed whose dynamics is governed by the nonlinear, nonlocal diffusive partial differential equation of the parabolic type. The long time behaviour of the nonlinear process is studied with emphasis on the propagation of chaos and the convergence rate towards equilibrium. The Gaussian confidence intervals for the convergence to the stationary distribution of the nonlinear equation are provided. These results set an alternative to the previous studies of nonlinear self-stabilizing processes [\textit{S. Benachour} et al., Stochastic Processes 75, 173-201 (1998; Zbl 0932.60063) and ibid., 203-224 (1998; Zbl 0932.60064)], originally devised as substitutes for kinetic models of granular media.