Lattice thermal transport from phonon spectra beyond perturbation theory

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zeng, Zezhu, Simoncelli, Michele, Manolopoulos, David E.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866914496191135744
author Zeng, Zezhu
Simoncelli, Michele
Manolopoulos, David E.
author_facet Zeng, Zezhu
Simoncelli, Michele
Manolopoulos, David E.
contents We develop a molecular dynamics framework to compute the mode-resolved phonon spectral density from classical correlations of an annihilation-like phonon variable. For harmonic oscillators, classical molecular dynamics exactly reproduces the corresponding quantum Kubo-transformed correlator, providing the basis for extension to anharmonic systems. Using PbTe as a benchmark and Cs$_3$Bi$_2$I$_6$Cl$_3$ as a strongly anharmonic test case, we show that the method captures both quasiparticle and non-Lorentzian spectra beyond perturbative quasiparticle theory, while yielding thermal conductivity in good agreement with experiment. This framework provides a direct route from classical molecular dynamics to quantum-mechanical Wigner heat transport in solids.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_19615
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Lattice thermal transport from phonon spectra beyond perturbation theory
Zeng, Zezhu
Simoncelli, Michele
Manolopoulos, David E.
Materials Science
We develop a molecular dynamics framework to compute the mode-resolved phonon spectral density from classical correlations of an annihilation-like phonon variable. For harmonic oscillators, classical molecular dynamics exactly reproduces the corresponding quantum Kubo-transformed correlator, providing the basis for extension to anharmonic systems. Using PbTe as a benchmark and Cs$_3$Bi$_2$I$_6$Cl$_3$ as a strongly anharmonic test case, we show that the method captures both quasiparticle and non-Lorentzian spectra beyond perturbative quasiparticle theory, while yielding thermal conductivity in good agreement with experiment. This framework provides a direct route from classical molecular dynamics to quantum-mechanical Wigner heat transport in solids.
title Lattice thermal transport from phonon spectra beyond perturbation theory
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.19615