Expansion dynamics of Lennard-Jones systems.

The dynamics of the expansion of a Lennard-Jones system, initially confined at high density and subsequently expanding freely in a vacuum, is compared with an expanding statistical ensemble derived in the diluted quasi-ideal Boltzmann approximation. The description proves to be fairly accurate at predicting average one-body global observables, but important deviations are observed in the configuration-space structure of the events. Possible implications for finite expanding physical systems are outlined.

Extended Gibbs ensembles with flow.

A recently proposed [Ph. Chomaz, F. Gulminelli, and O. Juillet, Ann. Phys. (Paris) 320, 135 (2005)] statistical treatment of finite unbound systems in the presence of collective motions is applied to a classical Lennard-Jones system, numerically simulated through molecular dynamics. In the ideal gas limit, the flow dynamics can be exactly recast into effective time-dependent Lagrange parameters acting on a standard Gibbs ensemble with an extra total energy conservation constraint. Using this same ansatz for the low-density freeze-out configurations of an interacting expanding system, we show that the presence of flow can have a sizable effect on the microstate distribution.