Interaction driven transverse thermal resistivity in a phonon gas

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Guo, Xiaodong, Li, Xiaokang, Subedi, Alaska, Zhu, Zengwei, Behnia, Kamran
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Guo, Xiaodong
Li, Xiaokang
Subedi, Alaska
Zhu, Zengwei
Behnia, Kamran
author_facet Guo, Xiaodong
Li, Xiaokang
Subedi, Alaska
Zhu, Zengwei
Behnia, Kamran
contents The amplitude of the Hall response of electrons can be understood without invoking interactions. Most theories of the phonon thermal Hall effect have likewise opted for a non-interacting picture. Here, we challenge this approach. Our study of WS$_2$, a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) insulator, finds that longitudinal, $κ_{xx}$, and transverse, $κ_{xy}$, thermal conductivities peak at almost the same temperature. Their ratio obeys an upper bound, as in other insulators. We then compare transverse thermal transport in a phonon gas and in a molecular gas. In the latter, the Senftleben-Beenakker effect is driven by the competition between molecular collisions and applied magnetic field in setting the distribution of molecular angular momenta. An off-diagonal transport response arises thanks to interactions between non-spherical particles, which do not need to be chiral. By analogy, we argue that in a phonon gas, magnetic field will influence phonon-phonon interactions, and generates a transverse thermal \emph{resistivity}, whose order of magnitude can be accounted for by invoking a Berry force on the drift velocity of the nuclei in the presence of a finite heat. This simple picture gives a reasonable account of the experimentally measured transverse thermal resistivity of seven different crystalline insulators.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_03644
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Interaction driven transverse thermal resistivity in a phonon gas
Guo, Xiaodong
Li, Xiaokang
Subedi, Alaska
Zhu, Zengwei
Behnia, Kamran
Materials Science
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Statistical Mechanics
Strongly Correlated Electrons
The amplitude of the Hall response of electrons can be understood without invoking interactions. Most theories of the phonon thermal Hall effect have likewise opted for a non-interacting picture. Here, we challenge this approach. Our study of WS$_2$, a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) insulator, finds that longitudinal, $κ_{xx}$, and transverse, $κ_{xy}$, thermal conductivities peak at almost the same temperature. Their ratio obeys an upper bound, as in other insulators. We then compare transverse thermal transport in a phonon gas and in a molecular gas. In the latter, the Senftleben-Beenakker effect is driven by the competition between molecular collisions and applied magnetic field in setting the distribution of molecular angular momenta. An off-diagonal transport response arises thanks to interactions between non-spherical particles, which do not need to be chiral. By analogy, we argue that in a phonon gas, magnetic field will influence phonon-phonon interactions, and generates a transverse thermal \emph{resistivity}, whose order of magnitude can be accounted for by invoking a Berry force on the drift velocity of the nuclei in the presence of a finite heat. This simple picture gives a reasonable account of the experimentally measured transverse thermal resistivity of seven different crystalline insulators.
title Interaction driven transverse thermal resistivity in a phonon gas
topic Materials Science
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Statistical Mechanics
Strongly Correlated Electrons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.03644