Dynamically induced heat rectification in quantum systems

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that dynamic driving can induce and enhance heat rectification in linear quantum systems, enabling potential applications like thermal transistors with high efficiency.

Contribution

It provides an analytical framework showing heat rectification requires dynamic driving and explores how detuning enhances rectification and enables thermal transistor functionality.

Findings

Asymmetric heat currents are induced only with dynamic driving.

Detuning oscillators enhances rectification performance.

Driven harmonic networks can function as thermal transistors with high amplification.

Abstract

Heat rectifiers are systems that conduct heat asymmetrically for forward and reversed temperature gradients. Here, we present an analytical study of heat rectification in linear quantum systems. We demonstrate that asymmetric heat currents can be induced in a linear system only if it is dynamically driven. The rectification can be further enhanced, even achieving maximal performance, by detuning the oscillators of the driven network. Finally, we demonstrate the feasibility of such driven harmonic network to work as a thermal transistor, quantifying its efficiency through the dynamical amplification factor.