Specific Heat Spectroscopy of Simple Chain Models

Molecular dynamics simulations were run on bead-spring polymer models. Small amplitude temperature variations were imposed, and energy response was monitored. The real and imaginary components of the frequency dependent specific heat were extracted. A low frequency peak is seen to develop at high packing fractions. The non-Debye parameter -- $\beta$ -- is seen to decrease as the glass transition is approached. Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under Contract No. DE-AC04-94AL85000.