Surface-modes mediated long-range radiative heat transfer through a plasmonic Su-Schrieffer-Heeger chain

TL;DR

This paper investigates how topologically protected edge modes in a plasmonic Su-Schrieffer-Heeger chain enhance long-range radiative heat transfer near an InSb substrate, revealing phase-dependent effects and non-monotonic distance behavior.

Contribution

It demonstrates the emergence of topologically protected edge modes in a plasmonic chain coupled to a substrate and their role in enhancing long-range heat transfer.

Findings

Enhanced heat transfer in the topological phase due to edge modes

Presence of a topological phase transition indicated by Zak phase

Non-monotonic distance dependence of heat transfer

Abstract

We study the radiative heat transfer through a Su-Schrieffer-Heeger chain of plasmonic InSb nanoparticles in close vicinity of an InSb substrate. We show how the frequency bands of the in-plane and out-of-plane modes in the chain are deformed by the coupling to the surface waves in the InSb substrate by considering different carrier concentrations. By calculating the Zak phase we show that also in the presence of the substrate there is a topological phase transition and that topologically protected edge modes emerge for finite chains. Finally, we demonstrate the long-range heat transport along the chain due to the coupling to the surface waves of the sample {accompanied by a non-monotonic distance dependence of this effect and we show imprints of the trivial and non-trivial phase in the photonic local density of states.} We find an enhanced heat transfer in the topological non-trivial phase compared to the trivial phase due to the contribution of the edge modes.