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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Characterization of Thermal Transport in One-dimensional Solid Materials
Published on: January 26, 2014
Heat conduction and diffusion of hard disks in a narrow channel
Adam Lipowski1, Dorota Lipowska
1Faculty of Physics, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland.
Abstract:
Using molecular dynamics we study heat conduction and diffusion of hard disks in one-dimensional narrow channels. When collisions preserve momentum the heat conduction kappa diverges with the number of disks N as kappa approximately N alpha (alpha approximately 1/3) . Such a behavior is seen both when the ordering of disks is fixed ("pen-case" model), and when they can exchange their positions. Momentum conservation results also in sound-wave effects that enhance diffusive behavior and on an intermediate time scale (that diverges in the thermodynamic limit) normal diffusion takes place even in the "pen-case" model. When collisions do not preserve momentum, kappa remains finite and sound-wave effects are absent.
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