Transition state theory and the dynamics of hard disks

The dynamics of two- and five-disk systems confined in a square has been studied using molecular dynamics simulations and compared with the predictions of transition state theory. We determine the partition functions Z and Z ‡ of transition state theory using a procedure first used by Salsburg and Wood for the pressure. Our simulations show this procedure and transition state theory are in excellent agreement with the simulations. A generalization of the transition state theory to the case of a large number of disks N is made and shown to be in full agreement with simulations of disks moving in a narrow channel. The same procedure for hard spheres in three dimensions leads to the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann formula for their alpha relaxation time. © 2013 American Physical Society.