Phase Transitions and Change of Type in Low-Temperature Heat Propagation

Classical heat pulse experiments have shown heat to propagate in waves through crystalline materials at temperatures close to absolute zero. With increasing temperature, these waves slow down and finally disappear, to be replaced by diffusive heat propagation. Several features surrounding this phenomenon are examined in this work. The model used switches between an internal parameter (or extended thermodynamics) description and a classical (linear or nonlinear) Fourier law setting. This leads to a hyperbolic-parabolic change of type, which allows wavelike features to appear beneath the transition temperature and diffusion above. We examine the region around and immediately below the transition temperature, where dissipative effects are insignificant.