Density effects in internal-energy transport in polyatomic gases

The revised Enskog theory is used in a heuristic way to modify the Wang Chang-Uhlenbeck quantum kinetic equation for polyatomic gases close to thermodynamic equilibrium. The density effects predicted for the total and internal thermal conductivities are in qualitative agreement with recent molecular dynamic calculations, suggesting that inelastic effects should be included in dense fluid transport theory. Paper dedicated to Professor Edward A. Mason.