Kinetic theory plays a central role in many areas of mathematical physics, from nanoscales to continuum mechanics. It is an indispensable tool in the mathematical description of applications in physical and social sciences, from its origin in dilute gases, to wide applications such as semi-conductors, polymers, cells, plasma, galaxies, traffic networking, and swarming. The number of particles is typically more than 1020.
On the one hand, kinetic models provide more detailed and accurate description of regimes where hydrodynamic equations are either invalid or simply not available. On the other hand, because modern computers are still inadequate in simulating the molecular or even quantum dynamics in emerging industrial needs in micro- and nanotechnology, kinetic equations provide models that can capture important features of microscopic or quantum phenomena with a manageable computational cost. Kinetic theory is at the core of multiscale modeling, which connects fundamental... (more)