English

Emergence and control of heat current from strict zero thermal bias

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics 2010-04-13 v2 Statistical Mechanics Classical Physics

Abstract

It is an ever-growing challenge to develop nano-devices for controlling energy transport. An open question is whether we can create and control heat current at {\it strict zero thermal bias}, and if yes, how to do it. In this paper, we demonstrate that a nonlinear asymmetric system, when pushed out of equilibrium, can produce heat current in the absence of a thermal bias. The emergence and control of heat current over a broad range of parameters are studied. Our results reveal the following three necessary conditions: non-equilibrium source, symmetry breaking, and nonlinearity. We also demonstrate that when heat baths are correlated, symmetry breaking is sufficient to generate heat current.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.0909.3125,
  title  = {Emergence and control of heat current from strict zero thermal bias},
  author = {Jie Ren and Baowen Li},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0909.3125},
  year   = {2010}
}

Comments

4pages, 5figures