English

Semiclassical Vlasov and fluid models for an electron gas with spin effects

Plasma Physics 2015-06-19 v1 Strongly Correlated Electrons Quantum Physics

Abstract

We derive a four-component Vlasov equation for a system composed of spin-1/2 fermions (typically electrons). The orbital part of the motion is classical, whereas the spin degrees of freedom are treated in a completely quantum-mechanical way. The corresponding hydrodynamic equations are derived by taking velocity moments of the phase-space distribution function. This hydrodynamic model is closed using a maximum entropy principle in the case of three or four constraints on the fluid moments, both for Maxwell-Boltzmann and Fermi-Dirac statistics.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1405.1184,
  title  = {Semiclassical Vlasov and fluid models for an electron gas with spin effects},
  author = {Jerome Hurst and Omar Morandi and Giovanni Manfredi and Paul-Antoine Hervieux},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1405.1184},
  year   = {2015}
}

Comments

To appear in the European Physical Journal D, Topical Issue "Theory and Applications of the Vlasov Equation"