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Thermal transport in out-of-equilibrium quantum harmonic chains

F. Nicacio^1,*, A. Ferraro², A. Imparato³, M. Paternostro², and F. L. Semião¹

¹Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo André, 09210-170 São Paulo, Brazil
²Centre for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
³Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade, Building 1520, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark

^*Corresponding author: fernando.nicacio@ufabc.edu.br

Phys. Rev. E 91, 042116 – Published 15 April, 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.91.042116

Abstract

We address the problem of heat transport in a chain of coupled quantum harmonic oscillators, exposed to the influences of local environments of various nature, stressing the effects that the specific nature of the environment has on the phenomenology of the transport process. We study in detail the behavior of thermodynamically relevant quantities such as heat currents and mean energies of the oscillators, establishing rigorous analytical conditions for the existence of a steady state, whose features we analyze carefully. In particular, we assess the conditions that should be faced to recover trends reminiscent of the classical Fourier law of heat conduction and highlight how such a possibility depends on the environment linked to our system.

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References (14)

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Thermal transport in out-of-equilibrium quantum harmonic chains

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References (14)

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