The phonon Boltzmann equation, properties and link to weakly anharmonic lattice dynamics (Q857604)

The paper aims to review a consistent derivation of the kinetic (Boltzmann's) equation for phonons in a weakly anharmonic lattice, starting from the equations of motion for lattice waves. It is argued that the role of the ordinary distribution function in the Boltzmann's equation for a gas of particles is played by the Wigner function, in the case of the phonon kinetic equation. The derivation is presented in two forms. One relies upon the usual conjecture of the Gaussian decoupling, while the other approach makes use of the technique of Feynman diagrams. It is demonstrated that stationary solutions to the kinetic equation for the phonons are precisely equivalent to the equilibrium (thermal) Wigner functions (if the kinetic equation is dominated by the three-phonon anharmonic interactions, special conditions should be imposed on the phonon dispersion relation to secure the latter result). Both methods employed for the derivation of the phonon kinetic equation are extended for the quantum case, when the equations of motion for excitations in the weakly anharmonic lattice are quantized. The application of the kinetic equation to the analysis of heat conductivity in the lattice is discussed in detail.