Stability of the spectral gap for the Boltzmann multi-species operator linearized around non-equilibrium Maxwell distributions (Q2308260)

The time evolution of the gas vector distribution \(\mathbf F (t,x,v) = (F_1,\cdots, F_N)\) on \(\mathbb R_+\times \mathbb T^3 \times\mathbb R^3\) obeys the equation \[ (B) \quad \partial_t\mathbf F + v \cdot\nabla_x\mathbf F = Q(\mathbf F, \mathbf F) \] where \(Q\) is the Boltzman operator. A solution of \((B)\) having the form \(\mathbf F=\mu+\mathbf f\), with \(\mu=(\mu_1,\cdots,\mu_N)\) and \(\mu_i(v)\approx e^{-m_i|v|^2/2}\), transforms \((B)\) to the following equation \[ \partial_t\mathbf f+v\cdot\nabla_x\mathbf f=\mathbf L\mathbf f+Q(\mathbf f ,\mathbf f), \] where \(\mathbf L\) is the Boltzmann multispecies operator. After [\textit{M. Briant} and \textit{E. S. Daus}, Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 222, No. 3, 1367--1443 (2016; Zbl 1375.35298)] there exists \(\lambda_{\mathbf L}>0\) and the following estimate holds in a weighted \(L^2\)-space, \[ \langle \mathbf L \mathbf f,\mathbf f \rangle\leq -\lambda_{\mathbf L}\|\mathbf f-\pi_{\mathbf L}\mathbf f\|^2, \] where \(\pi_{\mathbf L}\mathbf f\) is the orthogonal projection on the space \(\mathrm{Ker}\mathbf L\). The paper under review is devoted to solutions of \((B)\) having the form \(\mathbf F=\mathbf M^\varepsilon+\mathbf f\), where \(\mathbf M^\varepsilon=(\mathbf M^\varepsilon_1,\cdots,\mathbf M^\varepsilon_N)\) and \(\mathbf M^\varepsilon_i(v)\approx e^{-m_i|v-\varepsilon u_i(t,x)|^2/2}\). This transofrms \((B)\) to \[ (B^\varepsilon)\quad \partial_t\mathbf M^\varepsilon + \partial_t\mathbf f + v \cdot\nabla_x \mathbf M + v \nabla_x \mathbf f = Q(\mathbf M^\varepsilon;\mathbf M^\varepsilon) + L^\varepsilon(\mathbf f ) + Q(\mathbf f ; \mathbf f ), \] where \(\mathbf L^\varepsilon\) is the Boltzmann multi-species operator linearized around \(\mathbf M^\varepsilon\). The authors prove the following estimate \[ \langle \mathbf L \mathbf f,\mathbf f \rangle\leq \Big(-\lambda_{\mathbf L}+\mathcal O(\varepsilon)\Big)\|\mathbf f-\pi_L\mathbf f\|^2+\mathcal O(\varepsilon)\|\pi_{\mathbf L}\mathbf f\|^2. \]