Velocity statistics in dissipative, dense granular media.
We use a two-dimensional random-force model to investigate the velocity distributions in driven granular media. In general, the shape of the distribution is found to depend on the degree of dissipation and the packing fraction but, in highly dissipative systems, the velocity distributions have tails close to exponential. We show that these arise from the dynamics of single particles traveling in dilute regions and influenced predominantly by the random force. A self-consistent kinetic theory is developed to describe this behavior.
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom.
David J
DJ
Bray
Michael R
MR
Swift
P J
PJ
King