Approach to Equilibrium of a Neutron Gas
- 15 March 1965
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review B
- Vol. 137 (6A), A1686-A1696
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrev.137.a1686
Abstract
We have calculated the relaxation constants (time eigenvalues) associated with the time-dependent Boltzmann equation for the relaxation of a neutron gas in contact with a heat bath (moderating material). The eigenvalues were calculated by explicit and implicit matrix methods, and for monatomic-gas and crystalline models of the moderator. The discrete eigenvalues were found to lie in a finite piece of the axis. Our results strongly suggest that in many crystalline moderators, only the fundamental eigenvalue exists. In these cases, the approach to equilibrium is not exponential.
Keywords
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