Stochastic behavior of the coefficient of normal restitution

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2014 Feb;89(2):022205. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.89.022205. Epub 2014 Feb 28.

Abstract

We consider the collision of a rough sphere with a plane by detailed analysis of the collision geometry. Using stochastic methods, the effective coefficient of restitution may be described as a fluctuating quantity whose probability density follows an asymmetric Laplace distribution. This result agrees with recent experiments by Montaine et al. [Phys. Rev. E 84, 041306 (2011)].