Heat wave propagation in a nonlinear chain

TL;DR

This paper studies how heat pulses propagate in a chain of nonlinear oscillators, showing that the telegraph equation effectively models energy transport, with implications for nanotube heat conduction.

Contribution

It demonstrates that the telegraph equation accurately describes heat pulse propagation in nonlinear oscillator chains, linking microscopic dynamics to macroscopic heat transport models.

Findings

Memory effects influence diffusion properties.

The telegraph equation matches simulation results.

Insights applicable to nanotube energy transport.

Abstract

We investigate the propagation of temperature perturbations in an array of coupled nonlinear oscillators at finite temperature. We evaluate the response function at equilibrium and show how the memory effects affect the diffusion properties. A comparison with nonequilibrium simulations reveals that the telegraph equation provides a reliable interpretative paradigm for describing quantitatively the propagation of a heat pulse at the macroscopic level. The results could be of help in understanding and modeling energy transport in individual nanotubes.