title: Mass dependence of the Soret coefficient for atomic diffusion in condensed matter.
abstract: Particle diffusion in condensed matters driven by thermal gradient, the so-called Ludwig-Soret effect, has been investigated for about 160 years, but up to the present, seldom do theories on atomic level understand a series of puzzles in relevant experiments. In this work, we derived an expression of Soret coefficient for atomic diffusion in condensed matter from a single atom statistic model with relevant parameters expressed in terms of atomic mass and the potential profile felt by the guest atom without empirical parameters. The reality of the model was strictly tested by molecular dynamics simulations, especially the result for He atom diffusing on graphene sheet, which suggests the Soret effect may be used to separate (3)He from (4)He.
authors.affiliation: Applied Ion Beam Physics Laboratory, Institute of Modern Physics, Department of Nuclear Science and Technology, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Feng
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Zheng-Zhe
authors.initials: ZZ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Xi-Jing
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Ning