Global solutions of Boltzmann's equation and the entropy inequality (Q2644901)

This paper is to some extent an addendum to the earlier remarkable paper of the authors [Ann. Math., II. Ser. 130, No.2, 321-366 (1989; Zbl 0698.45010)]. In that paper they use the natural (formal) conservation laws of mass, momentum, and entropy associated with the Boltzmann equation to establish global (in space-time) existence of solutions to a modified version of the Boltzmann equation for data \(f_ 0\) satisfying \[ f_ 0\geq 0,\quad \int_{{\mathbb{R}}^ N\times {\mathbb{R}}^ N}f_ 0(1+| \xi |^ 2+| x|^ 2+| \log f_ 0|)dx d\xi <\infty. \] (The authors termed this form of the Boltzmann equation as ``renormalized''.) The verification of one important stability question was left open in the original paper. If \(\{f_ n\}\) is a sequence of solutions of the renormalized Boltzmann equation corresponding to initial data \(f_{0n}\) at \(t=0\) and \[ \sup_{n}\int_{{\mathbb{R}}^ N\times {\mathbb{R}}^ N}\int dx d\xi f^ n_ 0\{1+| x|^ 2+| \xi |^ 2+\log | f_{0n}| \}<\infty,\quad f_{0n}\geq 0, \] what can be said regarding preservation of equality regarding the rate of dissipation of total entropy? In this paper the authors prove that the sequence \(\{f_ n\}\) possesses a convergent subsequence, converging to a solution f of the renormalized Boltzmann equation which satisfies the original entropy rate dissipation equality as an inequality. The proof is based on the weak stability theory of the authors' earlier paper.