On the asymptotic behaviour of the free gas and its fluctuations in the hydrodynamical limit (Q1092538)

We consider the time evolved states \=P\({}_ t=\bar P\circ \Theta _ t^{-1}\) of the free motion \(\Theta _ t(q,v)=(q+tv,v)\), \(q,v\in {\mathbb{R}}^ d\), starting in some non-equilibrium state \=P and look at the associated process \(X_ t^{\epsilon}\) of fluctuations of the actual number \(\Theta _{t/\epsilon}(\mu)(\epsilon ^{-1}A\times B)\) of particles of the realization \(\mu\) in \(\epsilon ^{-1}\cdot A\) with velocities in B at time t/\(\epsilon\) around its mean as \(\epsilon\) \(\to 0\) (i.e, in the hydrodynamic limit). It is shown that under natural conditions on the initial state \=P, especially a mixing condition in the space variables, for each t the laws of the fluctuations become Gaussian in the hydrodynamic limit in the following sense: \=P\(\circ (X_ t^{\epsilon})^{-1}\Rightarrow \bar Q_ t\) as \(\epsilon\) \(\to 0\), where \(\Rightarrow\) denotes weak convergence and \=Q\({}_ t\) is a centered Gaussian state, which is translation invariant in the space variables. Furthermore the time evolution (\=Q\({}_ t)_ t\) is also given by the free motion in the sense that \=Q\({}_ t=\bar Q_ 0\circ \Theta _ t^{-1}.\) On the other hand we shall see that \=P\({}_ t\Rightarrow P_{z\cdot \lambda \times \tau}\) as \(t\to \infty\), where \(P_{z\cdot \lambda \times \tau}\) is the Poisson process with intensity measure \(z\cdot \lambda \times \tau\), i.e., the equilibrium state for the free motion with particle density z and velocity distribution \(\tau\). In the hydrodynamic limit this behaviour corresponds to the ergodic theorem for the fluctuation process: \=Q\({}_ t\Rightarrow \bar Q\) as \(t\to \infty\). Here \=Q is a centered Gaussian state describing the equilibrium fluctuations, i.e., the fluctuations of \(P_{z\cdot \lambda \times \tau}.\) Thus we prove the central limit theorem for the ideal gas: fluctuations are Gaussian even in nonequilibrium. The proofs rest on an adaption of the method of moments for sequences of generalized fields.