Hydrodynamic limits for kinetic equations and the diffusive approximation of radiative transport for acoustic waves

Abstract

We consider a class of kinetic equations, equipped with a single conservation law, which generate L1-contractions. We discuss the hydrodynamic limit to a scalar conservation law and the diffusive limit to a (possibly) degenerate parabolic equation. The limits are obtained in the "dissipative" sense, equivalent to the notion of entropy solutions for conservation laws, which permits the use of the perturbed test function method and allows for simple proofs. A general compactness framework is obtained for the diffusive scaling in L1. The radiative transport equations, satisfied by the Wigner function for random acoustic waves, present such a kinetic model that is endowed with conservation of energy. The general theory is used to validate the diffusive approximation of the radiative transport equation.