Quantum thermal transistor

TL;DR

This paper proposes a quantum thermal transistor made of three interacting subsystems, capable of controlling heat flow similarly to electronic transistors, with potential applications in nano-scale thermal devices.

Contribution

It introduces a quantum thermal transistor model using three interacting subsystems and demonstrates high heat amplification in spin systems, expanding quantum thermal management capabilities.

Findings

High heat amplification achievable over various parameters

Thermal transistor functions analogous to electronic bipolar transistors

Potential for nano-scale thermal modulation and amplification

Abstract

We demonstrate that a thermal transistor can be made up with a quantum system of 3 interacting subsystems , coupled to a thermal reservoir each. This thermal transistor is analogous to an electronic bipolar one with the ability to control the thermal currents at the collector and at the emitter with the imposed thermal current at the base. This is achieved determining the heat fluxes by means of the strong-coupling formalism. For the case of 3 interacting spins, in which one of them is coupled to the other 2, that are not directly coupled, it is shown that high amplification can be obtained in a wide range of energy parameters and temperatures. The proposed quantum transistor could, in principle, be used to develop devices such as a thermal modulator and a thermal amplifier in nano systems.