Nonlinear phenomena in quantum thermoelectrics and heat

[EN] We review recent developments in nonlinear quantum transport through nanostructures and mesoscopic systems driven by thermal gradients or in combination with voltage biases. Low-dimensional conductors are excellent platforms for analyzing both the thermoelectric and heat dynamics beyond the lin...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Sánchez, David, López, Rosa
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión enviada para evaluación y publicación
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/157239
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/157239
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Nonlinear thermoelectrics
Mesoscopic systems
Quantum heat transport
Thermoélectricité non linéaire
Systèmes mésoélectriques
Transport de la chaleur en régime quantique
Descripción
Sumario:[EN] We review recent developments in nonlinear quantum transport through nanostructures and mesoscopic systems driven by thermal gradients or in combination with voltage biases. Low-dimensional conductors are excellent platforms for analyzing both the thermoelectric and heat dynamics beyond the linear response because, due to their small size, a small temperature difference applied across regions gives rise to large thermal biases. We offer a theoretical discussion based on the scattering approach to highlight the differences between the linear and the nonlinear regimes of transport. We discuss recent experiments on quantum dots and molecular junctions subjected to strong temperature differences. Theoretical predictions concerning the Kondo effect and heat rectification proposals are briefly examined. An important issue is the calculation of thermoelectric efficiencies including nonlinearities. Cross Seebeck effects and nonlinear spin filtering arise in superconductors and topological insulators, while mixed noises between charge and heat currents are also considered. Finally, we provide an outlook on the possible future directions of the field.