Optimal decay estimates on the linearized Boltzmann equation with time dependent force and their applications (Q2466846)

The authors propose optimal decay estimates on the solution in weighted Sobolev spaces for the linearized Boltzmann equation with general external forces. No assumption is made on the time decay of these forces. This result is applied to prove global existence of the solution to the Cauchy problem for the nonlinear Boltzmann equation with time-dependent external forces and sources. In particular, in space dimension \(d=3\), global existence and time-decay are obtained under some prescription for the decay of these forces and sources while these time decay restrictions may be removed for \(d\geq 5\).