Velocity reversal criterion of a body immersed in a sea of particles (Q2354351)

The problem of a rigid body motion, diffusively colliding with a continuum of particles is considered. It is assumed that 1) the whole system, consisting of the body and the particles, starts out close to an equilibrium state, 2) the particles are identical, rarefied and interact only with the rigid body, 3) the particles colliding with the body reflect diffusely, 4) some probability distribution \(K\) is known. The rigid body is a cylinder \(S(t) \subset\mathbb R^d\), it is parallel to the \(x\)-axis, \(\mathbf{x} = (x, x_\bot)\), \(x_\bot \in\mathbb R^{d-1}\), and moves only in the \(x\) direction with velocity \(V(t)=dx /dt\), \(dV/dt= E - F(t)\). A constant horizontal force \(E \geq 0\) is acting on the body, the horizontal force \(F(t)\) is acting due to all the colliding particles at time \(t\), \(F_0(V_\infty) = E\), where \(F_0(V)\) is the fictitious force in the case that no particle collides more than once, \(0\leq V_\infty < V(0)\). The sufficient condition when the collective force of the colliding particles reverses the relative velocity \(V(t)\) of the rigid body is found. The expression \((V(t) - V_\infty)\) changes the sign before the body approaches the equilibrium state. It is proved that the equilibrium is approached at the polynomial rate \(O(t^{-d-p})\) (\(d\) is spatial dimensions, \(p\) could take any value in \((0, 2]\) and is depending on the specific law of reflection given by the probability distribution \(K\)).