I cannot get over the feeling that in the classical derivation of the collision term of Boltzmann's transport equation molecules that are already knocked out of a (r,v) space volume are double-counted many times. In essence, my question really is: how can one multiply the number of "bullets" (incoming particles) by the number of "targets" (particles within an infinitesimal spatial-velocity element) to get the number of times a bullet hits a target? Isn't it that one "bullet" can only hit one "target"?
Please allow me to elaborate.
In the classical Boltzmann equation with the 2-body collision term for a gas of a single kind of molecule, the collision term is given as the sum of a gain through collision term and a loss through collision term.
Largely following Huang's Statistical Mechanics, the derivation of the loss term (the rate of decrease of particle density f(r,v,t) owing to collisions) is reproduced as follows:
To a molecule in a given spatial volume d3r about r, whose velocity lies in d3v1 about v1, other molecules of any given velocity v2 in the same spatial volume pose as an incident beam. The flux of this incident beam is
I=|v1−v2|f(r,v2,t)d3v2
So far so good. But the standard derivation goes on to say that the number of collisions happening in this spatial volume d3r during δt of the type {v1,v2}→{v′1,v′2} is given by
Iσ(v1,v2;v′1,v′2)d3v′1d3v′2δt=|v1−v2|f(r,v2,t)σ(v1,v2;v′1,v′2)d3v2d3v′1d3v′2δt A comment here from me before continuing on with the derviation: a single collision will knock the molecule with velocity v1 out of the phase-space volume of d3rd3v1 around (r,v1), how can it still be at the same location r and velocity v1 for the other collisions of the same type {v1,v2}→{v′1,v′2}?
To help drive my point home, let's follow through with the standard derivation: The total rate of loss is obtained by integrating over all v2, v′1 and v′2 and then multiplying the result by the number of molecules within the volume of d3rd3v1 around (r,v1), i.e.,
df|loss≡f(r,v1,t+δt)d3rd3v1−f(r,v1,t)d3rd3v1=f(r,v1,t)d3rd3v1∭
To me, this further indicates that each molecule within d^3 r d^3 v_1 around (\textbf r, \textbf v_1) undergoes n number of collisions where n = \iiint |\textbf v_1 - \textbf v_2| f(\textbf r, \textbf v_2, t) \sigma(\textbf v_1, \textbf v_2 ; \textbf v'_1, \textbf v'_2) d^3 v_2 d^3 v'_1 d^3 v'_2 \delta t.
How are these multiple collisions possible? Isn't this double-counting?
The above is reproduced based on the derivation given in Huang's Statistical Mechanics, essentially same derivations can be found from multiple sources online, e.g., https://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/plasma/Plasma/node33.html
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