Dispersion and absorption in one-dimensional nonlinear lattices: A resonance phonon approach

Based on the linear response theory, we propose a resonance phonon (r-ph) approach to study the renormalized phonons in a few one-dimensional nonlinear lattices. Compared with the existing anharmonic phonon (a-ph) approach, the dispersion relations derived from this approach agree with the expectations of the effective phonon (e-ph) theory much better. The application is also largely extended, i.e., it is applicable in many extreme situations, e.g., high frequency, high temperature, etc., where the existing one can hardly work. Furthermore, two separated phonon branches (one acoustic and one optical) with a clear gap in between can be observed by the r-ph approach in a diatomic anharmonic lattice. While only one combined branch can be detected in the same lattice with both the a-ph approach and the e-ph theory.