Nonlinear Boltzmann collision operator ($Q(f,f)(v)=\int B(g,n)(f^{\prime }{f}_{\ast }^{\prime }-f{f}_{\ast })d{v}_{\ast }dn$)

For equal-mass elastic collisions, one reflection parametrization is $v^{\prime }=v-((v-v_{\ast })\cdot n)n$ and $v_{\ast }^{\prime }=v_{\ast }+((v-v_{\ast })\cdot n)n$. The fixed-$n$ transformation preserves pairwise momentum, kinetic energy and velocity-pair measure. A nonnegative kernel invariant under particle interchange and collision reversal yields a gain-loss operator. Its weak Boltzmann collision identity proves conservation and its entropy identity proves the Boltzmann H theorem. Unlike the Maxwell molecule collision operator, this general kernel may depend on relative speed.

Write $f=M(1+h)$ around a fixed Maxwellian and expand the nonlinear Boltzmann collision operator to first order. The weak Boltzmann collision identity gives the nonnegative dissipation form in $L^2(Mdv)$, and polarization proves symmetry on an appropriate common domain. Its zero modes are the collision invariants when the scattering kernel is nondegenerate. A spectral gap, and self-adjointness of an unbounded realization, require additional domain and kernel hypotheses.

The angular collision rate is integrable at each nonzero relative velocity, with any needed speed-growth bounds stated separately. This makes the separate gain and loss integrals available under suitable velocity integrability. Non-cutoff kernels can have infinite angular collision rate and require cancellation rather than the same naive gain-loss split.

Here $\Delta \psi =\psi (v^{\prime })+\psi (v_{\ast }^{\prime })-\psi (v)-\psi (v_{\ast })$ is the pairwise collision change, not a Laplace operator. Average over the two particle labels and use collision reversal to obtain the formula. Every collision invariant has $\Delta \psi =0$, giving mass, momentum and kinetic energy conservation. A second symmetrization replaces $f{f}_{\ast }\Delta \psi /2$ by $(f^{\prime }{f}_{\ast }^{\prime }-f{f}_{\ast })(-\Delta \psi )/4$.