Negative differential thermal resistance of fluids induced by heat baths

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that negative differential thermal resistance (NDTR), previously observed in one-dimensional systems, also occurs in higher-dimensional fluids with weak interactions, opening new avenues for thermal device design.

Contribution

It extends the understanding of NDTR from one-dimensional models to higher-dimensional fluids using analytical and numerical methods, highlighting its robustness and potential applications.

Findings

NDTR occurs in high-dimensional fluids with weak interactions

The mechanism is robust in mixed fluids

Results suggest potential for fluid thermal transistors

Abstract

It has recently been shown that in one-dimensional hard-point gases, there is a mechanism that induces negative differential thermal resistance (NDTR) between heat baths. We examine this mechanism in more general higher dimensional fluids described by multiparticle collision dynamics. We consider fluids in a finite cuboid region of three-dimensional space with each end in contact with a heat bath. Based on analytical results and numerical models, we find that the mechanism underlying NDTR also works for high-dimensional fluidic systems with weak interactions and is very robust to mixed fluids. Our results significantly advance knowledge of NDTR induced by heat bath and illuminate new directions to explore in fabricating fluid thermal transistors in micro- and nanosystems.