Mesoscopic Moment Equations for Heat Conduction: Characteristic Features and Slow–Fast Mode Decomposition

In this work, we derive different systems of mesoscopic moment equations for the heat-conduction problem and analyze the basic features that they must hold. We discuss two- and three-equation systems, showing that the resulting mesoscopic equation from two-equation systems is of the telegraphist’s type and complies with the Cattaneo equation in the Extended Irreversible Thermodynamics Framework. The solution of the proposed systems is analyzed, and it is shown that it accounts for two modes: a slow diffusive mode, and a fast advective mode. This latter additional mode makes them suitable for heat transfer phenomena on fast time-scales, such as high-frequency pulses and heat transfer in small-scale devices. We finally show that, if proper initial conditions are provided, the advective mode disappears, and the solution of the system tends asymptotically to the transient solution of the classical parabolic heat-conduction equation.