Generalizing the Boltzmann equation in complex phase space

Abstract

In this work, a generalized form of the BGK-Boltzmann equation is proposed, where the velocity, position, and time can be represented by real or complex variables. The real representation leads to the conventional BGK-Boltzmann equation, which can recover the continuity and Navier-Stokes equations. We show that the complex representation yields a different set of equations, and it can also recover the conservation and Navier-Stokes equations, at low Mach numbers, provided that the imaginary component of the macroscopic mass can be neglected. We briefly review the Constant Speed Kinetic Model (CSKM), which was introduced in Zadehgol and Ashrafizaadeh [J. Comp. Phys. 274, 803 (2014)JCTPAH0021-999110.1016/j.jcp.2014.06.053] and Zadehgol [Phys. Rev. E 91, 063311 (2015)PLEEE81539-375510.1103/PhysRevE.91.063311]. The CSKM is then used as a basis to show that the complex-valued equilibrium distribution function of the present model can be identified with a simple singularity in the complex phase space. The virtual particles, in the present work, are concentrated on virtual "branes" which surround the computational nodes. Employing the Cauchy integral formula, it is shown that certain variations of the "branes," in the complex phase space, do not affect the local kinetic states. This property of the new model, which is referred to as the "apparent jumps" in the present work, is used to construct new models. The theoretical findings have been tested by simulating three benchmark flows. The results of the present simulations are in excellent agreement with the previous results reported by others.