Celebrating Cercignani's conjecture for the Boltzmann equation (Q631361)

Cercignani's conjecture assumes a linear inequality between the entropy and entropy production functionals for Boltzmann's nonlinear integral operator in rarefied gas dynamics. Related to the field of logarithmic Sobolev inequalities and spectral gap inequalities, this issue has been at the core of the renewal of the mathematical theory of convergence to thermodynamical equilibrium for rarefied gases over the past decade. In this review, first basics of the Boltzmann equation, different collision kernels and the H-theorem are discussed. Then Cercignani's conjecture is outlined. Different versions of this inequality as well as consequences following from it are reviewed, supplemented by an extensive list of references.