Nonlinear chiral refrigerators

David Sánchez, Rafael Sánchez, Rosa López, and Björn Sothmann
Phys. Rev. B 99, 245304 – Published 18 June 2019

Abstract

We investigate a mesoscopic refrigerator based on chiral quantum Hall edge channels. We discuss a three-terminal cooling device in which charge transport occurs only between a pair of voltage-biased terminals. The third terminal, which is to be cooled, is set as a voltage probe with vanishing particle flux. This largely prevents the generation of direct Joule heating, which ensures a high coefficient of performance. Cooling operation is based on energy-dependent quantum transmissions. The latter are implemented with the aid of two tunable scattering resonances (quantum dots). To find the optimal performance point and the largest temperature difference created with our refrigerator, it is crucial to address the nonlinear regime of transport, accounting for electron-electron interaction effects. Our numerical simulations show that the maximal cooling power can be tuned with the quantum dot couplings and energy levels. Further, we provide analytical expressions within a weakly nonlinear scattering-matrix formalism which allow us to discuss the conditions for optimal cooling in terms of generalized thermopowers. Our results are important for the assessment of chiral conductors as promising candidates for efficient quantum refrigerators with low dissipation.

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  • Received 11 April 2019
  • Revised 31 May 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.99.245304

©2019 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

David Sánchez1, Rafael Sánchez2, Rosa López1, and Björn Sothmann3

  • 1Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems IFISC (UIB-CSIC), E-07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
  • 2Departamento de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada and Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
  • 3Theoretische Physik, Universität Duisburg-Essen and CENIDE, D-47048 Duisburg, Germany

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Issue

Vol. 99, Iss. 24 — 15 June 2019

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