Experimental verification of reciprocity relations in quantum thermoelectric transport

Matthews, Jason; Battista, Francesca; Sánchez, David; Samuelsson, Peter; Linke, Heiner

doi:10.1103/physrevb.90.165428

Cited by 50 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…In particular, regimes near electronic phase transitions might be favorable for thermoelectric conversion [145,110]. A deeper understanding of the nonlinear regime is also needed [99,125,150], since, as observed experimentally in mesoscopic devices [95], the Onsager-Casimir reciprocity relations break down and this fact could in principle allow for improved thermoelectric efficiencies. Furthermore, in the nonlinear regime rectification effects occur and their impact on thermoelectricity is still not well understood.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Thermal Rectifiers to Thermoelectric Devices

Benenti

Casati

Mejía‐Monasterio

et al. 2016

Thermal Transport in Low Dimensions

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We discuss thermal rectification and thermoelectric energy conversion from the perspective of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and dynamical systems theory. After preliminary considerations on the dynamical foundations of the phenomenological Fourier law in classical and quantum mechanics, we illustrate ways to control the phononic heat flow and design thermal diodes. Finally, we consider the coupled transport of heat and charge and discuss several general mechanisms for optimizing the figure of merit of thermoelectric efficiency.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Thermal Rectifiers to Thermoelectric Devices

Benenti

Casati

Mejía‐Monasterio

et al. 2016

Thermal Transport in Low Dimensions

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“…Linear-response examples include Refs. [5,[46][47][48][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66], while nonlinear responses were considered in Refs. [17,18,36,37,54,[67][68][69][70][71], see Refs.…”

Section: Nonlinear Scattering Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Finding the quantum thermoelectric with maximal efficiency and minimal entropy production at given power output

2015

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We investigate the nonlinear scattering theory for quantum systems with strong Seebeck and Peltier effects, and consider their use as heat-engines and refrigerators with finite power outputs. This article gives detailed derivations of the results summarized in Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 130601 (2014). It shows how to use the scattering theory to find (i) the quantum thermoelectric with maximum possible power output, and (ii) the quantum thermoelectric with maximum efficiency at given power output. The latter corresponds to a minimal entropy production at that power output. These quantities are of quantum origin since they depend on system size over electronic wavelength, and so have no analogue in classical thermodynamics. The maximal efficiency coincides with Carnot efficiency at zero power output, but decreases with increasing power output. This gives a fundamental lower bound on entropy production, which means that reversibility (in the thermodynamic sense) is impossible for finite power output. The suppression of efficiency by (nonlinear) phonon and photon effects is addressed in detail; when these effects are strong, maximum efficiency coincides with maximum power. Finally, we show in particular limits (typically without magnetic fields) that relaxation within the quantum system does not allow the system to exceed the bounds derived for relaxation-free systems, however, a general proof of this remains elusive.

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“…This makes the nonlinear regime of quantum thermoelectric transport quite unique and interesting to explore, as recently emphasized in Refs. [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonlinear spin-thermoelectric transport in two-dimensional topological insulators

et al. 2014

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We consider spin-polarized transport in a quantum spin Hall antidot system coupled to normal leads. Due to the helical nature of the conducting edge states, the screening potential at the dot region becomes spin dependent without external magnetic fields nor ferromagnetic contacts. Therefore, the electric current due to voltage or temperature differences becomes spin polarized, its degree of polarization being tuned with the dot level position or the base temperature. This spin-filter effect arises in the nonlinear transport regime only and has a purely interaction origin. Likewise, we find a spin polarization of the heat current, which is asymmetric with respect to the bias direction. Interestingly, our results show that a pure spin current can be generated by thermoelectric means: when a temperature gradient is applied, the created thermovoltage (Seebeck effect) induces a spin-polarized current for vanishingly small charge current. An analogous effect can be observed for the heat transport: a pure spin heat flows in response to a voltage shift even if the thermal current is zero.

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Experimental verification of reciprocity relations in quantum thermoelectric transport

Cited by 50 publications

References 41 publications

From Thermal Rectifiers to Thermoelectric Devices

From Thermal Rectifiers to Thermoelectric Devices

Finding the quantum thermoelectric with maximal efficiency and minimal entropy production at given power output

Nonlinear spin-thermoelectric transport in two-dimensional topological insulators

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