Correlation function formalism for the intrinsic viscosity of polymers

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Abstract
A correlation function formalism for the intrinsic viscosity of polymers is studied. For this purpose, a Fokker‐Planck equation and the momentum flux equation in the full phase space of the polymer are derived by an application of the projection operator method to the whole system consisting of the polymer and solvent molecules. These relations are further reduced to Kirkwood's Fokker‐Planck equation and the corresponding flux in the polymer coordinate space. These steps give a molecular‐theoretical basis to the Kirkwood equation, and the reduced flux obtained is essentially equivalent to that suggested previously by Stockmayer and co‐workers. Some comments are made on related studies, particularly that of Doi and Okano, which is considered to be erroneous.