Particle velocity distribution in a 3-dimensional vibration fluidized granular medium

We report an experimental study of particle kinematics in a 3-dimensional system of inelastic spheres fluidized by intense vibration. The motion of particles in the interior of the medium is tracked by high speed video imaging, yielding a spatially- resolved measurement of the velocity distribution. The distribution is wider than a Gaussian and broadens continuously with increasing volume fraction. The deviations from a Gaussian distribution for this boundary-driven system are different in sign and larger in magnitude than predictions for homogeneously driven systems. We also find correlations between velocity components which grow with increasing volume fraction.