Heat Conduction in a Three-Dimensional Momentum-Conserving Anharmonic Lattice

Heat conduction in three-dimensional anharmonic lattices was numerically studied by the Green-Kubo theory. For a given lattice width W, a dimensional crossover is generally observed to occur at a W-dependent threshold of the lattice length. Lattices shorter than W will display a 3D behavior while lattices longer than W will display a 1D behavior. In the 3D regime, the heat current autocorrelation function was found to show a power-law decay as a function of the time lag τ as τ^β with β=-1.2. This indicates normal heat conduction. However, the decay exponent deviates significantly from the conventional theoretical value of β=-1.5. A flat power spectrum S(ω) of the global heat current in the low-frequency limit was also observed in the 3D regime. This provides not only an alternative verification of normal heat conduction but also a clear physical insight into its origin.