Thermoelectric Rectification and Amplification in Interacting Quantum-Dot Circuit-Quantum-Electrodynamics Systems

Abstract

Thermoelectric rectification and amplification were investigated in an interacting quantum-dot circuit-quantum-electrodynamics system. By applying the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green’s function approach, we studied the elastic (energy-conserving) and inelastic (energy-nonconserving) transport through a cavity-coupled quantum dot under the voltage biases in a wide spectrum of electron–electron and electron–photon interactions. While significant charge and Peltier rectification effects were found for strong light–matter interactions, the dependence on electron–electron interaction could be nonmonotonic and dramatic. Electron–electron interaction-enhanced transport was found under certain resonance conditions. These nontrivial interaction effects were found in both linear and nonlinear transport regimes, which manifested in charge and thermal currents, rectification effects, and the linear thermal transistor effect.

Impact of Quantum Coherence on Inelastic Thermoelectric Devices: From Diode to Transistor

“…[31], proposing that thermal transistor effects could occur in the linear-transport regime, particularly when dominated by phonon-assisted inelastic transport. In our subsequent work, [7,33] we further demonstrated the existence of linear thermal transistor effects in circuit-quantum-electrodynamics systems across a wide range of QD energies and light-matter interactions. Furthermore, we showed that thermal transistor effects can manifest even without these conditions in Brownian thermal transistors.…”

“…[1][2][3] Phonon-thermoelectric transport stands at the intersection of mesoscopic physics and opens quantum systems, exploring topics such as thermoelectric energy conversion in phonon-thermoelectric devices [4,5] and quantum dot (QD) circuit-quantum-electrodynamics. [6][7][8] Recently, various quantum phenomena based on QDs subjected to voltage bias and temperature gradients have been explored, revealing stressing the influence of quantum coherence on electron and phonon transport. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Coherence offers a promising viewpoint for investigating non-equilibrium open quantum systems, providing valuable insights for both theoretical foundations and practical applications.…”