Anomalous heat conduction in a 2d Frenkel-Kontorova lattice

Abstract

We show that in contrast to the 1d Frenkel-Kontorova (FK) chain known to obey the Fourier law of heat conduction and several 2d models which show logarithmic dependence of conductivity on system size, a scalar 2d FK lattice with commensurate structure exhibits anomalous heat conduction, whose thermal conductivity displays a power law behavior. The dependence of thermal gradient on bulk temperature and noise correlation is critically analyzed. A dynamical contribution to conductivity when the system attains a nonequilibrium steady state of thermal conduction has been identified. © EDP Sciences/ Società Italiana di Fisica/Springer-Verlag 2007.