  The microscale thermal transport properties of $\alpha$RDX are believed to be
major factors in the initiation process. In this study we present a thorough
examination of phonon properties which dominate energy storage and transport in
$\alpha$RDX. The phonon lifetimes are determined for all phonon branches,
revealing the characteristic time scale of energy transfer amongst phonon
modes. The phonon parameters also serve as inputs to a full Brillouin zone
three dimensional phonon transport simulation in the presence of a hotspot. In
addition to identifying the phonon mode contributions to thermal transport, and
as N-N bond breaking is integral to disassociation, we identify phonon modes
corresponding to large N-N bond stretch analyzing the manner in which these
modes store and transfer energy.
