Unconventional Relaxation of Hydrodynamic Modes in Anharmonic Chains

Abstract: Nonlinear fluctuating hydrodynamics (NFHD) is a powerful framework for understanding transport, but checking its validity with molecular dynamics is still challenging. Here, we overcome this challenge by developing an effective scheme for detecting hydrodynamic modes that takes into account the role of pressure fluctuations. We show that the predictions given by NFHD on the relaxation processes of hydrodynamic modes are valid only when the pressure of the system is zero and the pressure fluctuations are weak. For nonvanishing pressure, two other regimes arise as the hydrodynamic modes can respond to small and large pressure fluctuations and relax in two additionally distinct manners. In contrast to the previous finding of two classes, our results suggest that there are at least three universality classes of transport in anharmonic chains.