We study the thermal conduction behaviors of one-dimensional lattice models with asymmetric harmonic interparticle interactions. Normal thermal conductivity that is independent of system size is observed when the lattice chains are long enough. Because only the harmonic interactions are involved, the result confirms, without ambiguity, that asymmetry plays a key role in normal thermal conduction in one-dimensional momentum conserving lattices. Both equilibrium and nonequilibrium simulations are performed to support the conclusion.
Heat and energy are conceptually different, but often are assumed to be the same without justification. An effective method for investigating diffusion properties in equilibrium systems is discussed. With this method, we demonstrate that for one-dimensional systems, using the indices of particles as the space variable, which has been accepted as a convention, may lead to misleading conclusions. We then show that though in one-dimensional systems there is no general connection between energy diffusion and heat conduction, however, a general connection between heat diffusion and heat conduction may exist. Relaxation behavior of local energy current fluctuations and that of local heat current fluctuations are also studied. We find that they are significantly different,though the global energy current equals the globe heat current.
