Kinetic theory and transport phenomena

This textbook presents kinetic theory, which is a systematic approach to describing nonequilibrium systems. The text is balanced between the fundamental concepts of kinetic theory (irreversibility, transport processes, separation of time scales, conservations, coarse graining, distribution functions, etc.) and the results and predictions of the theory, where the relevant properties of different systems are computed. The book is organised in thematic chapters where different paradigmatic systems are studied. The specific features of these systems are described, building and analysing the appropriate kinetic equations. Specifically, the book considers the classical transport of charges, the dynamics of classical gases, Brownian motion, plasmas, and self-gravitating systems, quantum gases, the electronic transport in solids and, finally, semiconductors. Besides these systems that are studied in detail, concepts are applied to some modern examples including the quark–gluon plasma, the motion of bacterial suspensions, the electronic properties of graphene or the dynamics of a vortex gas, among others. In this way the reader will appreciate how the concepts and tools of kinetic theory can be applied to various situations. Besides these thematic chapters, a first chapter presents the main concepts in an introductory manner and then the formal kinetic theory for classical systems is presented in a general form, which will serve as the basis for subsequent thematic chapters. Finally, specific numerical methods for kinetic theory are given in a devoted chapter.