Boltzmann's H-theorem and the assumption of molecular chaos

We describe a simple dynamical model of a one-dimensional ideal gas and use computer simulations of the model to illustrate two fundamental results of kinetic theory: the Boltzmann transport equation and the Boltzmann H-theorem. Although the model is time-reversal invariant, both results predict that the behaviour of the gas is time-asymmetric. We show that the assumption of molecular chaos is a necessary condition, but not a sufficient condition, for such time-asymmetric results to correctly describe the model, and we use computer simulations to investigate the conditions under which the assumption of molecular chaos holds.