  We apply the linear response theory to systems with long-range interactions
described by hydrodynamic equations such as the Euler, Smoluchowski, and damped
Euler equations. We analytically determine the response of the system submitted
to a pulse and to a step function. We compare these results with those obtained
for collisionless systems described by the Vlasov equation. We show that, in
the linear regime, the evolution of a collisionless system (Vlasov) with the
waterbag distribution is the same as the evolution of a collision-dominated gas
without dissipation (Euler). In this analogy, the maximum velocity of the
waterbag distribution plays the role of the velocity of sound in the
corresponding barotropic gas. When submitted to a step function, these systems
exhibit permanent oscillations. Other distributions exhibit Landau damping and
relax towards a steady state. We illustrate this behaviour with the Cauchy
distribution which can be studied analytically. We apply our results to the HMF
model and obtain a generalized Curie-Weiss law for the magnetic susceptibility.
Finally, we compare the linear response theory to the initial value problem for
the linearized Vlasov equation and report a case of algebraic damping of the
initial perturbation.

Statistical Mechanics