Thermal rectification and negative differential thermal conductivity based on a parallel-coupled double quantum-dot

TL;DR

This paper studies heat flow in a double quantum-dot system, revealing thermal rectification and negative differential thermal conductance influenced by energy levels and Coulomb interactions, with potential for high rectification ratios.

Contribution

It demonstrates the existence of thermal rectification and NDTC in a double quantum-dot system and analyzes how asymmetry enhances these effects.

Findings

High thermal rectification ratio achievable

NDTC observed under certain conditions

Energy level difference and Coulomb interaction influence transport

Abstract

We investigate the heat flow transport properties of a parallel-coupled double quantum-dot system connected to two reservoirs with a temperature bias in the Coulomb blockade regime. We demonstrate that the effects of thermal rectification and negative differential thermal conductance (NDTC) exist in this system and analyze the influences of energy level difference and Coulomb interaction on the thermal rectification and NDTC. We find that this system can achieve a high thermal rectification ratio and NDTC when the asymmetry factor of the system is enhanced.