Nonreciprocal radiative heat transfer between two planar bodies

TL;DR

This paper presents an analytical framework for nonreciprocal radiative heat transfer between planar bodies, revealing unique effects and thermodynamic constraints, with numerical demonstrations using magneto-optical materials, applicable to near- and far-field regimes.

Contribution

The authors develop a formalism for nonreciprocal heat transfer in planar systems and identify unique effects and thermodynamic constraints, expanding understanding of near- and far-field radiative transfer.

Findings

Identification of nonreciprocal effects in near-field heat transfer

Thermodynamic constraints consistent with the second law

Numerical demonstration with magneto-optical materials

Abstract

We develop an analytical framework for nonreciprocal radiative heat transfer in two-body planar systems. Based on our formalism, we identify effects that are uniquely nonreciprocal in near-field heat transfer in planar systems. We further introduce a general thermodynamic constraint that is applicable for both reciprocal and nonreciprocal planar systems, in agreement with the second law of thermodynamics. We numerically demonstrate our findings in an example system consisting of magneto-optical materials. Our formalism applies to both near- and far-field regimes, opening opportunities for exploiting nonreciprocity in two-body radiative heat transfer systems.