https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2011-20395-3
Regular Article
Velocity autocorrelation function of a Brownian particle
Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Leipzig,
Vor dem Hospitaltore
1, 04103
Leipzig,
Germany
a e-mail: chakraborty@itp.uni-leipzig.de
Received:
25
May
2011
Received in final form:
22
July
2011
Published online:
10
October
2011
In this article, we present molecular dynamics study of the velocity autocorrelation function (VACF) of a Brownian particle. We compare the results of the simulation with the exact analytic predictions for a compressible fluid from [T.S. Chow, J.J. Hermans, Physica 65, 156 (1973)] and an approximate result combining the predictions from hydrodynamics at short and long times. The physical quantities which determine the decay were determined from separate bulk simulations of the Lennard-Jones fluid at the same thermodynamic state point. We observe that the long-time regime of the VACF compares well the predictions from the macroscopic hydrodynamics, but the intermediate decay is sensitive to the viscoelastic nature of the solvent.
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag, 2011