Lattice Gas Automaton Methods

Abstract

When one is interested in studying the dynamical behavior of fluid systems starting at the microscopic level, a logical approach is to begin with a molecular dynamics description of the interactions between the constituting particles. This approach quite often turns into a formidable task when the fluid evolves into a non-linear regime where chaos, turbulence, or reactive processes take place. But one may question whether a ‘realistic2019; description of the microscopic dynamics is indispensable to gain insight on the underlying mechanisms of large scale non-linear phenomena. Around 1985, a considerable simplification was introduced [1] when pioneering studies established theoretically and computationally the feasibility of simulating fluid dynamics via a microscopic approach based on a new paradigm: a virtual simplified micro-world is constructed as an automaton universe based not on a realistic description of interacting particles, but merely on the laws of symmetry and of invariance of macroscopic physics.