Thermal rectification in the thermodynamic limit

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that thermal rectification can become significantly stronger in the thermodynamic limit within a one-dimensional graded rotor lattice, especially when long-range interactions are considered, revealing new insights into heat conduction behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism for robust thermal rectification in the thermodynamic limit by linking it to heat conduction transitions and long-range interactions.

Findings

Thermal rectification increases with system size in the studied lattice.

Transition from normal to abnormal heat conduction is key to rectification.

Long-range interactions enhance the robustness of rectification.

Abstract

We show that an increasingly strong thermal rectification effect occurs in the thermodynamic limit in a one-dimensional, graded rotor lattice with nearest-neighboring interactions only. The underlying mechanism is related to the transition from normal to abnormal heat conduction behavior observed in the corresponding homogeneous lattices as the temperature decreases. In contrast and in addition to that by invoking long-range interactions, this finding provides a distinct scenario to make the thermal rectification effect robust.