We discuss the statistical mechanics of a system of self-gravitating particles with an exclusion constraint in position space in a space of dimension d. The exclusion constraint puts an upper bound on the density of the system and can stabilize it against gravitational collapse. We plot the...

We complement the literature on the statistical mechanics of point vortices in two-dimensional hydrodynamics. Using a maximum entropy principle, we determine the multi-species Boltzmann-Poisson equation and establish a form of Virial theorem. Using a maximum entropy production principle (MEPP),...

We derive general kinetic and hydrodynamic models of chemotactic aggregation that describe certain features of the morphogenesis of biological colonies (like bacteria, amoebae, endothelial cells or social insects). Starting from a stochastic model defined in terms of N coupled Langevin...

We discuss the nature of quasi-stationary states (QSS) with non-Boltzmannian distribution in systems with long-range interactions in relation with a process of incomplete violent relaxation based on the Vlasov equation. We discuss several attempts to characterize these QSS. We show that their...

We use the Chapman–Enskog method to derive the Smoluchowski equation from the Kramers equation in a high friction limit. We consider two main extensions of this problem: we take into account a uniform rotation of the background medium and we consider a generalized class of Kramers equations...

We developed a theory of fluctuations for Brownian systems with weak long-range interactions. For these systems, there exists a critical point separating a homogeneous phase from an inhomogeneous phase. Starting from the stochastic Smoluchowski equation governing the evolution of the fluctuating...

We develop the kinetic theory of Brownian particles with long- and short-range interactions. Since the particles are in contact with a thermal bath fixing the temperature T, they are described by the canonical ensemble. We consider both overdamped and inertial models. In the overdamped limit,...

We show an interesting connection between non-standard (non-Boltzmannian) distribution functions arising in the theory of violent relaxation for collisionless stellar systems [D. Lynden-Bell, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 136 (1967) 101.] and the notion of superstatistics recently introduced by...

We introduce a new class of Fokker–Planck equations associated with an effective generalized thermodynamical framework. These equations describe a gas of Langevin particles in interaction. The free energy can take various forms which can account for anomalous diffusion, quantum statistics, and...

We point out a remarkable analogy between the limiting mass of relativistic white dwarf stars (Chandrasekhar’s limit) and the critical mass of bacterial populations in a generalized Keller–Segel model of chemotaxis [P.H. Chavanis, C. Sire, Phys. Rev. E 69 (2004) 016116]. This model is based...