One-Dimensional Arrays of Oscillators: Energy Localization in Thermal Equilibrium

Abstract

All systems in thermal equilibrium exhibit a spatially variable energy landscape due to thermal fluctuations. Thus at any instant there is naturally a thermodynamically driven localization of energy in parts of the system relative to other parts of the system. The specific characteristics of the spatial landscape such as, for example, the energy variance, depend on the thermodynamic properties of the system and vary from one system to another. The temporal persistence of a given energy landscape, that is, the way in which energy fluctuations (high or low) decay toward the thermal mean, depends on the dynamical features of the system. We discuss the spatial and temporal characteristics of spontaneous energy localization in 1D anharmonic chains in thermal equilibrium.