Beyond Stefan-Boltzmann Law: Thermal Hyper-Conductivity

TL;DR

This paper reveals that hyperbolic metamaterials can significantly enhance radiative heat transfer, surpassing traditional limits like the Stefan-Boltzmann law, potentially exceeding electron and phonon heat conductivities in solids.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of thermal hyper-conductivity enabled by hyperbolic metamaterials, demonstrating a new regime of heat transfer beyond classical laws.

Findings

Radiative heat transfer in hyperbolic metamaterials exceeds Stefan-Boltzmann limit.

Thermal hyper-conductivity can approach or surpass electron and phonon conductivities.

Broadband divergence of photonic states drives giant heat transfer enhancement.

Abstract

We demonstrate that the broadband divergence of the photonic density of states in hyperbolic metamaterials leads to giant increase in radiative heat transfer, beyond the limit set by the Stefan-Boltzmann law. The resulting radiative thermal "hyper-conductivity" may approach or even exceed heat conductivity via electrons and phonons in regular solids.