We consider a system of classical particles, interacting via a smooth, long-range potential, in the mean-field regime, and we optimally analyze the propagation of chaos in form of sharp estimates on many-particle correlation functions. While approaches based on the BBGKY hierarchy are doomed by uncontrolled losses of derivatives, we propose a novel non-hierarchical approach that focusses on the empirical measure of the system and exploits a Glauber type calculus with respect to initial data in form of higher-order Poincare inequalities for cumulants. This main result allows to rigorously truncate the BBGKY hierarchy to an arbitrary precision on the mean-field timescale, thus justifying the Bogolyubov corrections to mean field. As corollaries, we also deduce a quantitative central limit theorem for fluctuations of the empirical measure, and we partially justify the Lenard-Balescu limit for a spatially homogeneous system away from thermal equilibrium.
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