Heat rectification through single and coupled quantum dots
We study heat rectification through quantum dots in the Coulomb blockade regime using a master equation approach. We consider both cases of two-terminal and four-terminal devices. In the two-terminal configuration, we analyze the case of a single quantum dot with either a doubly-degenerate level or...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2022-01-01
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| Series: | New Journal of Physics |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ac53b8 |
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| author | Ludovico Tesser Bibek Bhandari Paolo Andrea Erdman Elisabetta Paladino Rosario Fazio Fabio Taddei |
| author_facet | Ludovico Tesser Bibek Bhandari Paolo Andrea Erdman Elisabetta Paladino Rosario Fazio Fabio Taddei |
| author_sort | Ludovico Tesser |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We study heat rectification through quantum dots in the Coulomb blockade regime using a master equation approach. We consider both cases of two-terminal and four-terminal devices. In the two-terminal configuration, we analyze the case of a single quantum dot with either a doubly-degenerate level or two non-degenerate levels. In the sequential tunneling regime we analyze the behaviour of heat currents and rectification as functions of the position of the energy levels and of the temperature bias. In particular, we derive an upper bound for rectification in the closed-circuit setup with the doubly-degenerate level. We also prove the absence of a bound for the case of two non-degenerate levels and identify the ideal system parameters to achieve nearly perfect rectification. The second part of the paper deals with the effect of second-order cotunneling contributions, including both elastic and inelastic processes. In all cases we find that there exists ranges of values of parameters (such as the levels’ position) where rectification is enhanced by cotunneling. In particular, in the doubly-degenerate level case we find that cotunneling corrections can enhance rectification when they reduce the magnitude of the heat currents. For the four-terminal configuration, we analyze the non-local situation of two Coulomb-coupled quantum dots, each connected to two terminals: the temperature bias is applied to the two terminals connected to one quantum dot, while the heat currents of interest are the ones flowing in the other quantum dot. Remarkably, in this situation we find that non-local rectification can be perfect as a consequence of the fact that the heat currents vanish for properly tuned parameters. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1367-2630 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:07:06Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | New Journal of Physics |
| spelling | doaj.art-f2485a45c5ea4e5db1b44b9920b12a3c2023-08-09T14:20:41ZengIOP PublishingNew Journal of Physics1367-26302022-01-0124303500110.1088/1367-2630/ac53b8Heat rectification through single and coupled quantum dotsLudovico Tesser0Bibek Bhandari1Paolo Andrea Erdman2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4626-2869Elisabetta Paladino3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9929-3768Rosario Fazio4Fabio Taddei5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2482-6750Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Chalmers University of Technology , S-412 96 Göteborg, SwedenDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester , Rochester, NY 14627, United States of America; Institute for Quantum Studies, Chapman University , Orange, CA 92866, United States of AmericaDepartment of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin , Arnimallee 6, 14195 Berlin, GermanyDipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia Ettore Majorana, Università di Catania , Via S. Sofia 64, 95123 Catania, Italy; INFN , Sez. Catania, I-95123, Catania, Italy; CNR-IMM , Via S. Sofia 64, I-95123, Catania, ItalyAbdus Salam ICTP , Strada Costiera 11, I-34151 Trieste, Italy; Dipartimento di Fisica E. Pancini, Università di Napoli Federico II , 80126 Napoli, Italy; NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR , Pisa I-56126, ItalyNEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore , I-56126 Pisa, ItalyWe study heat rectification through quantum dots in the Coulomb blockade regime using a master equation approach. We consider both cases of two-terminal and four-terminal devices. In the two-terminal configuration, we analyze the case of a single quantum dot with either a doubly-degenerate level or two non-degenerate levels. In the sequential tunneling regime we analyze the behaviour of heat currents and rectification as functions of the position of the energy levels and of the temperature bias. In particular, we derive an upper bound for rectification in the closed-circuit setup with the doubly-degenerate level. We also prove the absence of a bound for the case of two non-degenerate levels and identify the ideal system parameters to achieve nearly perfect rectification. The second part of the paper deals with the effect of second-order cotunneling contributions, including both elastic and inelastic processes. In all cases we find that there exists ranges of values of parameters (such as the levels’ position) where rectification is enhanced by cotunneling. In particular, in the doubly-degenerate level case we find that cotunneling corrections can enhance rectification when they reduce the magnitude of the heat currents. For the four-terminal configuration, we analyze the non-local situation of two Coulomb-coupled quantum dots, each connected to two terminals: the temperature bias is applied to the two terminals connected to one quantum dot, while the heat currents of interest are the ones flowing in the other quantum dot. Remarkably, in this situation we find that non-local rectification can be perfect as a consequence of the fact that the heat currents vanish for properly tuned parameters.https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ac53b8quantum dotsheat rectificationelectronic transportcotunneling |
| spellingShingle | Ludovico Tesser Bibek Bhandari Paolo Andrea Erdman Elisabetta Paladino Rosario Fazio Fabio Taddei Heat rectification through single and coupled quantum dots New Journal of Physics quantum dots heat rectification electronic transport cotunneling |
| title | Heat rectification through single and coupled quantum dots |
| title_full | Heat rectification through single and coupled quantum dots |
| title_fullStr | Heat rectification through single and coupled quantum dots |
| title_full_unstemmed | Heat rectification through single and coupled quantum dots |
| title_short | Heat rectification through single and coupled quantum dots |
| title_sort | heat rectification through single and coupled quantum dots |
| topic | quantum dots heat rectification electronic transport cotunneling |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ac53b8 |
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