A Mechanical Model For Fourier's Law Of Heat Conduction

by Prof. David Ruelle (IHES)

Friday 21 Jan 2011, 11:30 → 12:30 Europe/Zurich

Room 234 (Geneva University)

Nonequilibrium statistical mechanics close to equilibrium is a physically satisfactory theory centered on the linear response formula of Green-Kubo. This formula results from a formal first order perturbation calculation without rigorous justification. A rigorous derivation of Fourier's law for heat conduction from the laws of mechanics remains thus a major unsolved problem. Here we present a deterministic mechanical model of a heat-conducting chain where kinetic energy fluctuations at the nodes of the chain are removed. In this model with nontrivial interactions, the derivation of Fourier's law can proceed rigorously.