Statistics of temperature fluctuations in an electron system out of equilibrium

TL;DR

This paper investigates the statistical behavior of electron temperature fluctuations in a metallic island out of equilibrium, emphasizing the role of contact properties and energy relaxation rates beyond Gaussian approximations.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of non-Gaussian temperature fluctuations in out-of-equilibrium electron systems, highlighting the influence of contact characteristics.

Findings

Temperature fluctuations are well-defined when internal energy relaxation exceeds exchange rates.

Fluctuation statistics depend on the nature of electronic contacts.

Analysis extends beyond Gaussian approximation to capture complex fluctuation behavior.

Abstract

We study the statistics of the fluctuating electron temperature in a metallic island coupled to reservoirs via resistive contacts and driven out of equilibrium by either a temperature or voltage difference between the reservoirs. The fluctuations of temperature are well-defined provided that the energy relaxation rate inside the island exceeds the rate of energy exchange with the reservoirs. We quantify these fluctuations in the regime beyond the Gaussian approximation and elucidate their dependence on the nature of the electronic contacts.