📝 SummarXiv

Abstract

We study heat conduction in a one-dimensional finite, unpinned chain of atoms perturbed by stochastic momentum exchange and coupled to Langevin heat baths at possibly distinct temperatures placed at the endpoints of the chain. While infinite systems without boundaries are known to exhibit superdiffusive energy transport described by a fractional heat equation with the generator $-|\Delta|^{3/4}$, the corresponding boundary conditions induced by heat baths remain less understood. We establish the hydrodynamic limit for a finite chain with $n+1$ atoms connected to thermostats at the endpoints, deriving the macroscopic evolution of the averaged energy profile. The limiting equation is governed by a non-local L\'evy-type operator, with boundary terms determined by explicit interaction kernels that encode absorption, reflection, and transmission of long-wavelength phonons at the baths. Our results provide the first rigorous identification of boundary conditions for fractional superdiffusion arising directly from microscopic dynamics, highlighting their distinction from both diffusive and pinned-chain settings.