Deviation from the Maxwell-Cattaneo law: Role of asymmetric interparticle interactions

Nonstationary heat conduction in a few one-dimensional nonlinear lattices is studied numerically based on the Maxwell-Cattaneo (MC) law. We simulate the relaxation process and calculate the magnitudes of the temperature oscillation A(T)(t) and the local heat current oscillation A(j)(t). A phase difference between A(T)(t) and A(j)(t) is observed, which not only verifies the existence of the time lag τ in the MC law but also provides a better way of determining the critical wavelength L(*) that separates between oscillatory and diffusive relaxation modes. However, clear deviations from the MC law are observed. Not only do the decay exponents differ from the theoretical expectations, but, more importantly, suboscillation in the diffusive regime, which is not expected by the MC law, is found in the lattices with asymmetric interactions as well. These findings imply that higher-order effects must be considered in order to well describe the nonstationary heat conduction process in these systems.