QUANTUM EFFECTS IN HEAT AND MASS-TRANSPORT PROCESSES

By using the evolution equations for heat and mass fluxes which have b een derived from the kinetic equation for the Wigner distribution func tion of a quantum gas mixture, a quantum effect in mass and heat trans port is discussed in this paper. We show that there are transport coef ficients associated with mass and heat transport which are proportiona l to h(2) and the curvatures of the external force applied to the syst em. These quantum effect terms should become observable at low tempera tures if the field gradients are comparable to the temperature gradien t or the concentration gradients in magnitude. In the case of charge c arriers, one of the held gradients can be related to the charge densit y if the external field is electric, and the quantum effect should be noticeable at law temperatures if the charge density gradient is compa rable to the temperature gradient or the concentration gradients of ne utral species in magnitude. The said quantum effect means that heat an d mass can be driven by second-order gradients (e.g., the curvature) o f the external field. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.