A lattice Boltzmann model for noble gas diffusion in solids: The importance of domain shape and diffusive anisotropy and implications for thermochronometry

Thermochronometry based on radiogenic noble gases is critically dependent upon accurate knowledge of the kinetics of diffusion. With few exceptions, complex natural crystals are represented by ideal geometries such as infinite sheets, infinite cylinders, or spheres, and diffusivity is assumed to be isotropic. However, the physical boundaries of crystals generally do not conform to ideal geometries and diffusion within some crystals is known to be anisotropic. Our failure to incorporate such complexities into diffusive models leads to inaccuracies in both thermal histories and diffusion parameters calculated from fractional release data. To address these shortcomings we developed a code based on the lattice Boltzmann (LB) method to model diffusion from complex 3D geometries having isotropic, temperature-independent anisotropic, and temperature-dependent anisotropic diffusivity. In this paper we outline the theoretical basis for the LB code and highlight several advantages of this model relative to more traditional finite difference approaches. The LB code, along with existing analytical solutions for diffusion from simple geometries, is used to investigate the affect of intrinsic crystallographic features (e.g., crystal topology and diffusion anisotropy) on calculated diffusion parameters and a novel method for approximating thermal histories from crystals with complex topologies and diffusive anisotropy is presented.