Thermal conductivity of the Toda lattice with conservative noise (Q5961854)

The authors consider a linear chain of mass points; adjacent points interact by a pair potential where their (deterministic) dynamics is disturbed by a stochastic momentum exchange. The resulting stochastic dynamics is energy and momentum preserving. The phenomenon of energy (heat) transport through the chain is analyzed by simulation experiments. Since the Hamiltonian current can be sampled during the experiment, estimates of thermal conductivity of the chain can be assessed. The dependence of the thermal conductivity on the length of the chain is studied. The outcomes of the simulation experiments suggest a super-diffusive heat flow through the chain for the case of the considered stochastic dynamics. In particular, the exponent of divergence of the thermal conductivity performs a different behavior than for the case of harmonic interaction potential and depends on the intensity of the stochastic disturbance. The paper is clearly written and essentially self-contained. The reader would, however, appreciate some more comments on the physical plausibility of the considered dynamics in the context of modeling carbon nano-tubes.