The Simplest Piston Problem II: Inelastic Collisions
arXiv:cond-mat/0507651 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.73.016137
Abstract
We study the dynamics of three particles in a finite interval, in which two light particles are separated by a heavy ``piston'', with elastic collisions between particles but inelastic collisions between the light particles and the interval ends. A symmetry breaking occurs in which the piston migrates near one end of the interval and performs small-amplitude periodic oscillations on a logarithmic time scale. The properties of this dissipative limit cycle can be understood simply in terms of an effective restitution coefficient picture. Many dynamical features of the three-particle system closely resemble those of the many-body inelastic piston problem.
8 pages, 7 figures, 2-column revtex4 format