Application of the Hilbert space average method on heat conduction models

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2006 Jan;73(1 Pt 2):016101. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.73.016101. Epub 2006 Jan 3.

Abstract

We analyze closed one-dimensional chains of weakly coupled many level systems, by means of the so-called Hilbert space average method (HAM). Subject to some concrete conditions on the Hamiltonian of the system, our theory predicts energy diffusion with respect to a coarse-grained description for almost all initial states. Close to the respective equilibrium, we investigate this behavior in terms of heat transport and derive the heat conduction coefficient. Thus, we are able to show that both heat (energy) diffusive behavior as well as Fourier's law follows from and is compatible with a reversible Schrödinger dynamics on the complete level of description.