Kinetic theory of response functions for the hard sphere granular fluid

The response functions for small spatial perturbations of a homogeneous granular fluid have been described recently. They are represented here as stationary state time correlation functions. These functions are then expressed in terms of reduced single particle functions that are expected to obey a linear kinetic equation. The functional assumption required for such a kinetic equation, and a Markov approximation for its implementation are discussed. If, in addition, static velocity correlations are neglected, a granular fluid version of the linearized Enskog kinetic theory is obtained. The derivation imposes no a priori limitation on the density, space and timescale, or degree of inelasticity. As an illustration, recently derived Helfand and Green - Kubo expressions for the Navier - Stokes order transport coefficients are evaluated with this kinetic theory. The results are in agreement with those obtained from the Chapman - Enskog solution to the non-linear Enskog kinetic equation.