Temperature anisotropy relaxation of the one-component plasma

The relaxation rate of a Maxwellian velocity distribution function that has an initially anisotropic temperature (TT perpendicular to) is an important physical process in space and laboratory plasmas. It is also a canonical example of an energy transport process that can be used to test theory. Here, this rate is evaluated using molecular dynamics simulations of the one-component plasma. Results are compared with the predictions of four kinetic theories; two treating the weakly coupled regime, namely (a) the Landau equation, and (b) the Lenard-Balescu equation, and two that attempt to extend the theory into the strongly coupled regime, namely (c) the effective potential theory and (d) the generalized Lenard-Balescu theory. The role of dynamic screening is studied, and is found to have a negligible influence on this transport rate. Oscillations and a delayed relaxation onset in the temperature profiles are observed at strong coupling, which are not described by the kinetic theories.