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A lower bound to the thermal diffusivity of insulators.

Kamran Behnia1,2, Aharon Kapitulnik3,4

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Thermal conductivity in insulators at high temperatures is limited by a universal threshold. This fundamental limit, related to sound velocity and Planckian time, applies even to amorphous materials like glasses.

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Area of Science:

  • Condensed matter physics
  • Solid-state physics
  • Materials science

Background:

  • Thermal conductivity in insulators typically decreases inversely with temperature above the Debye temperature.
  • This phenomenon is traditionally attributed to Umklapp scattering of phonons.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the minimum value of the thermal diffusion constant in insulating materials at high temperatures.
  • To determine if a universal lower bound exists for thermal transport in these materials.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of the thermal diffusion constant in cubic crystals with high thermal resistivity.
  • Theoretical scrutiny of the thermal transport regime above the Debye temperature.

Main Results:

  • The thermal diffusion constant does not fall below a fundamental threshold.
  • This threshold is determined by the square of the sound velocity multiplied by the Planckian time.
  • The observed limit holds for both crystalline insulators and amorphous materials like glasses.

Conclusions:

  • A universal lower bound for thermal conductivity exists in insulators, independent of Umklapp scattering.
  • This finding challenges current theories of heat transport and suggests a more fundamental physical principle at play.
  • The universality of this bound, similar to limits in charge transport, warrants further theoretical investigation.