Non-Clausius heat transfer: the example of harmonic chain with an impurity

Abstract

Motivated by recent discussion about the possibility of non-Clausius (from cold to hot) heat flow, we revisit the familiar model of an impurity atom of mass $M$ embedded in an otherwise uniform one-dimensional harmonic lattice of host atoms of mass $m$. Assuming that the initial distributions for the impurity and the rest of the lattice have canonical forms with given temperatures, we show that the average kinetic energy of the impurity may increase with time even if its initial temperature is higher than or equal to that of the lattice. Such an increase is only temporary in uniform lattices and in lattices with a heavy impurity ($M\ge m$), but may be permanent in lattices with a localized vibrational mode generated by a light impurity ($M<m$). Thus the model shows a non-Clausius spontaneous heat flow directed from a colder lattice to a hotter impurity.