Heat Pulse Propagation in Pure Sodium Fluoride at Low Temperatures From Ballistic to Diffusive Conduction

In this paper, heat pulse propagation in pure NaF at low temperature is studied by using hydrodynamic equations of a weakly interacting phonon gas. The observed longitudinal waves, transverse waves, second sound waves, and diffusive waveforms from the experiments conducted in early 1970s are numerically reconstructed. In the numerical simulations, the phase velocities of the longitudinal waves and the transverse waves are based on the experimental results, while two relaxation times for normal scattering process (τ_N) and resistive scattering process (τ_R) respectively are adjusted to fit the arrival time of second sound or to fit the observed waveforms observed in the experiments. The waveforms based on numerical results can fit the observed waveforms quite well. It is elucidated how heat pulse is transmitted by different waves in the dielectric crystal from ballistic to diffusive regions.