Survival-time distribution for inelastic collapse

In a recent publication [Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 1142 (1948)] it was argued that a randomly forced particle that collides inelastically with a boundary can undergo inelastic collapse and come to rest in a finite time. Here we discuss the survival probability for the inelastic collapse transition. It is found that the collapse-time distribution behaves asymptotically as a power law in time, and that the exponent governing this decay is nonuniversal. An approximate calculation of the collapse-time exponent confirms this behavior and shows how inelastic collapse can be viewed as a generalized persistence phenomenon. [S1063-651X(99)50705-8].