Paper detail

Separation of particles leading to decay and unlimited growth of energy in a driven stadium-like billiard

A competition between decay and growth of energy in a time-dependent stadium billiard is discussed giving emphasis in the decay of energy mechanism. A critical resonance velocity is identified for causing of separation between ensembles of high and low energy and a statistical investigation is made using ensembles of initial conditions both above and below the resonance velocity. For high initial velocity, Fermi acceleration is inherent in the system. However for low initial velocity, the resonance allies with stickiness hold the particles in a regular or quasi-regular regime near the fixed points, preventing them from exhibiting Fermi acceleration. Also, a transport analysis along the velocity axis is discussed to quantify the competition of growth and decay of energy and making use distributions of histograms of frequency, and we set that the causes of the decay of energy are due to the capture of the orbits by the resonant fixed points.