Small eigenvalues of the low temperature linear relaxation Boltzmann equation with a confining potential (Q270235)

The author departs from earlier works on hypocoercivity and exponential time decay for the linear inhomogeneous relaxation Boltzmann equation [\textit{F. Hérau}, Asymptotic Anal. 46, No. 3--4, 349--359 (2006; Zbl 1096.35019)] and [\textit{J. Dolbeault} et al., C. R., Math., Acad. Sci. Paris 347, No. 9--10, 511--516 (2009; Zbl 1177.35054)], originally limited to a fixed finite temperature. Presently, the low-temperature (actually semiclassical) asymptotic behavior is investigated, of the large particle system in a confining potential, where particles interactions are encrypted nonlocally in a collision kernel, the latter enforcing a relaxation towards the local Maxwellian. First spectral results are provided for the low-lying eigenvalues and the rate of return to equilibrium at low temperature for the pertinent linear Boltzmann model. The corresponding operator is not selfadjoint and a number of particular tools were necessary to get the resolvent estimates, as well as an estimate on the return to equilibrium. Scaling argument and the hypocoercive estimates were employed to this end. The Gearhart-Prüss theorem has been employed to get the semigroup decay rate.