The often overlooked role of sound in liquid thermal transport

Abstract

Formulated a hundred years ago, the Bridgman formula for thermal conductivity of liquids postulates a proportionality between sound velocity and thermal conductivity. This designates phonons as heat carriers in a liquid. Its empirical success has been under-appreciated and its conceptual implications overlooked. It is not mentioned in well-known condensed-matter textbook. Here, we review its origin, its links to hydrodynamic Euler equations and to the fundamental paradox surrounding the parabolic heat equation and its fate across the quantum-classical crossover.

arXiv comment10 pages, five figures