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Can Disorder Induce a Finite Thermal Conductivity in 1D Lattices?
1Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, 119260 Singapore and Department of Physics and Center for Nonlinear Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China.
Physical Review Letters
|January 3, 2001
Summary
We investigated heat conduction in disordered harmonic and anharmonic lattices. The disordered anharmonic lattice shows finite thermal conductivity at low temperatures and diverges at high temperatures, while the disordered harmonic lattice lacks a stationary state.
Area of Science:
- Condensed matter physics
- Statistical mechanics
- Lattice dynamics
Background:
- Heat conduction in disordered systems is crucial for understanding energy transport.
- Previous studies often focused on idealized models or specific temperature regimes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate heat conduction in one-dimensional mass-disordered harmonic and anharmonic lattices.
- To analyze the temperature dependence of thermal conductivity.
- To determine the existence of a unique nonequilibrium stationary state.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical analysis of heat conduction.
- Modeling of one-dimensional disordered lattices (harmonic and anharmonic).
- Investigation of thermal conductivity (kappa) and stationary states.
Main Results:
- Disordered anharmonic lattice: thermal conductivity is finite at low temperatures.
- Disordered anharmonic lattice: thermal conductivity diverges as kappa ~ N^0.43 at high temperatures.
- Disordered harmonic lattice: a unique nonequilibrium stationary state does not exist.
Conclusions:
- The behavior of thermal conductivity in disordered anharmonic lattices is strongly temperature-dependent.
- The absence of a stationary state in disordered harmonic lattices suggests unique transport properties.
- These findings offer insights into heat transport mechanisms in disordered materials.