Role of conserved quantities in Fourier's law for diffusive mechanical systems

Energy transport can be influenced by the presence of other conserved quantities. We consider here diffusive systems where energy and the other conserved quantities evolve macroscopically on the same diffusive space-time scale. In these situations the Fourier law depends also from the gradient of the other conserved quantities. The rotor chain is a classical example of such systems, where energy and angular momentum are conserved. We review here some recent mathematical results about diffusive transport of energy and other conserved quantities, in particular for systems where the bulk Hamiltonian dynamics is perturbed by conservative stochastic terms. The presence of the stochastic dynamics allows to define the transport coefficients (thermal conductivity) and in some cases to prove the local equilibrium and the linear response argument necessary to obtain the diffusive equations governing the macroscopic evolution of the conserved quantities. Temperature profiles and other conserved quantities profiles in the non-equilibrium stationary states can be then understood from the non-stationary diffusive behaviour. We also review some results and open problems on the two step approach (by weak coupling or kinetic limits) to the heat equation, starting from mechanical models with only energy conserved.Comment: Review Article for the CRAS-Physique, final versio

Microscopic derivation of an adiabatic thermodynamic transformation

We obtain macroscopic adiabatic thermodynamic transformations by space-time scalings of a microscopic Hamiltonian dynamics subject to random collisions with the environment. The microscopic dynamics is given by a chain of oscillators subject to a varying tension (external force) and to collisions with external independent particles of "infinite mass". The effect of each collision is to change the sign of the velocity without changing the modulus. This way the energy is conserved by the resulting dynamics. After a diffusive space-time scaling and cross-graining, the profiles of volume and energy converge to the solution of a deterministic diffusive system of equations with boundary conditions given by the applied tension. This defines an irreversible thermodynamic transformation from an initial equilibrium to a new equilibrium given by the final tension applied. Quasi-static reversible adiabatic transformations are then obtained by a further time scaling. Then we prove that the relations between the limit work, internal energy and thermodynamic entropy agree with the first and second principle of thermodynamics.Comment: New version accepted for the publication in Brazilian Journal of Probability and Statistic

Equilibrium fluctuation for an anharmonic chain with boundary conditions in the Euler scaling limit

We study the evolution in equilibrium of the fluctuations for the conserved quantities of a chain of anharmonic oscillators in the hyperbolic space-time scaling. Boundary conditions are determined by applying a constant tension at one side, while the position of the other side is kept fixed. The Hamiltonian dynamics is perturbed by random terms conservative of such quantities. We prove that these fluctuations evolve macroscopically following the linearized Euler equations with the corresponding boundary conditions, even in some time scales larger than the hyperbolic one

Toward the Fourier law for a weakly interacting anharmonic crystal

For a system of weakly interacting anharmonic oscillators, perturbed by an energy preserving stochastic dynamics, we prove an autonomous (stochastic) evolution for the energies at large time scale (with respect to the coupling parameter). It turn out that this macroscopic evolution is given by the so called conservative (non-gradient) Ginzburg-Landau system of stochastic differential equations. The proof exploits hypocoercivity and hypoellipticity properties of the uncoupled dynamics