Time-fractional heat equations and negative absolute temperatures

Abstract

The classical parabolic heat equation based on Fourier’s law implies infinite heat propagation speed. To remedy this physical flaw, the hyperbolic heat equation is used, but it may instead predict temperatures less than absolute zero. In recent years, fractional heat equations have been proposed as generalizations of heat equations of integer order. By simulating a 1D model problem of size on the order of a thermal energy carrier’s mean free path length, we have done a study of four fractional generalized Cattaneo equations from Compte and Metzler (1997) called GCE, GCE I, GCE II, and GCE III and also a fractional version of the parabolic heat equation. We have observed that when the fractional order is large enough, these equations give temperatures less than absolute zero. But if the fractional order is small enough, GCE I does not have this problem when the domain length is comparable to the mean free path length. With larger size, GCE I and GCE III also give non-oscillating solutions for both small and large values of the fractional order.