arXiv subjects

Giulio Casati

Publications and source records attributed to Giulio Casati.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Efficiency of three-terminal thermoelectric transport under broken-time reversal symmetry

We investigate thermoelectric efficiency of systems with broken time reversal symmetry under a three-terminal transport. Using a model of Aharonov-Bohm interferometer formed with three noninteracting quantum dots, we show that Carnot efficiency can be achieved when the thermopower is a symmetric function of the applied magnetic field. On the other hand, the maximal value of the efficiency at maximum power is obtained for asymmetric thermopower. Indeed, we show that Curzon-Ahlborn limit is exceeded within the linear response regime in our model. Moreover, we investigate thermoelectric efficiency for random Hamiltonians drawn from the Gaussian Unitary Ensemble and for a more abstract transmission model. In this latter model we find that the efficiency is improved using sharp energy-dependent transmission functions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Conservation Laws and Thermodynamic Efficiencies

We show that generic systems with a single relevant conserved quantity reach the Carnot efficiency in the thermodynamic limit. Such a general result is illustrated by means of a diatomic chain of hard-point elastically colliding particles where the total momentum is the only relevant conserved quantity.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2012

Nonreciprocal wave propagation through open, discrete nonlinear Schroedinger dimers

We consider asymmetric (nonreciprocal) wave transmission through a layered nonlinear, non mirror-symmetric system described by the one-dimensional Discrete Nonlinear Schrödinger equation with spatially varying coefficients embedded in an otherwise linear lattice. Focusing on the simplest case of two nonlinear sites (the dimer), we compute exact scattering solutions such that waves with the same frequency and incident amplitude impinging from left and right directions have different transmission coefficients. The stability of some particular solutions is addressed. We show that oscillatory instability may lead to the formation of stable extended states coexisting with a nonlinear defect mode oscillating at a different frequency. Numerical simulations of wave packet scattering are presented. Gaussian wave packets with the same amplitude arriving from opposite directions on the dimer are indeed transmitted very differently. Moreover, asymmetric transmission is sensitively dependent on the input parameters, akin to the case of chaotic scattering.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2012

Scaling behavior for a class of quantum phase transitions

We show that for quantum phase transitions with a single bosonic zero mode at the critical point, like the Dicke model and the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model, metric quantities such as fidelity, that is, the overlap between two ground states corresponding to two values $λ_1$ and $λ_2$ of the controlling parameter $λ$, only depend on the ratio $η=(λ_1-λ_c)/(λ_2-λ_c)$, where $λ=λ_c$ at the critical point. Such scaling property is valid also for time-dependent quantities such as the Loschmidt echo, provided time is measured in units of the inverse frequency of the critical mode.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

Railway switch transport model

We propose a simple model of coupled heat and particle transport based on a zero-dimensional classical deterministic dynamics which is reminiscent of a railway switch whose action is only a function of the particle's energy. It is shown that already in the minimal three-terminal model, where the second terminal is considered as a probe with zero net particle and heat currents, one can find extremely asymmetric Onsager matrices as a consequence of time-reversal symmetry breaking of the model. This minimalistic transport model provides a better understanding of thermoelectric heat engines in the presence of time-reversal symmetry breaking.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Thermal Rectification in Graded Materials

In order to identify the basic conditions for thermal rectification we investigate a simple model with non-uniform, graded mass distribution. The existence of thermal rectification is theoretically predicted and numerically confirmed, suggesting that thermal rectification is a typical occurrence in graded systems, which are likely to be natural candidates for the actual fabrication of thermal diodes. In view of practical implications, the dependence of rectification on the asymmetry and system's size is studied.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2012

Long-lasting Exponential Spreading in Periodically Driven Quantum Systems

Using a dynamical model relevant to cold-atom experiments, we show that long-lasting exponential spreading of wave packets in momentum space is possible. Numerical results are explained via a pseudo-classical map, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Possible applications of our findings are also briefly discussed.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2011

Thermodynamic Bounds on Efficiency for Systems with Broken Time-reversal Symmetry

We show that for systems with broken time-reversal symmetry the maximum efficiency and the efficiency at maximum power are both determined by two parameters: a "figure of merit" and an asymmetry parameter. In contrast to the time-symmetric case, the figure of merit is bounded from above; nevertheless the Carnot efficiency can be reached at lower and lower values of the figure of merit and far from the so-called strong coupling condition as the asymmetry parameter increases. Moreover, the Curzon-Ahlborn limit for efficiency at maximum power can be overcome within linear response. Finally, always within linear response, it is allowed to have simultaneously Carnot efficiency and non-zero power.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2011

Classical Dynamics of Quantum Entanglement

We numerically analyze the dynamical generation of quantum entanglement in a system of 2 interacting particles, started in a coherent separable state, for decreasing values of $\hbar$. As $\hbar\to 0$ the entanglement entropy, computed at any finite time, converges to a finite nonzero value. The limit law that rules the time dependence of entropy is well reproduced by purely classical computations. Its general features may then be explained by simple classical arguments, which expose the different ways entanglement is generated in systems which are classically chaotic or regular.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Nanocoolers

We present a simple kinematic model of a non-equilibrium steady state device, which can operate either as a heat engine or as a refrigerator. The model is composed of two or more scattering channels where the motion is fully described by deterministic classical dynamics, which connect a pair of stochastic (infinite) heat and particle baths at unequal temperatures. We discuss precise kinematic conditions under which our model may approach Carnot's optimal efficiency in different situations.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2011

Thermopower with broken time-reversal symmetry

We show that when non-unitary noise effects are taken into account the thermopower is in general asymmetric under magnetic field reversal, even for non-interacting systems. Our findings are illustrated in the example of a three-dot ring structure pierced by an Aharonov-Bohm flux.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2011

Asymmetric Wave Propagation in Nonlinear Systems

A mechanism for asymmetric (nonreciprocal) wave transmission is presented. As a reference system, we consider a layered nonlinear, non mirror-symmetric model described by the one-dimensional Discrete Nonlinear Schreodinger equation with spatially varying coefficients embedded in an otherwise linear lattice. We construct a class of exact extended solutions such that waves with the same frequency and incident amplitude impinging from left and right directions have very different transmission coefficients. This effect arises already for the simplest case of two nonlinear layers and is associated with the shift of nonlinear resonances. Increasing the number of layers considerably increases the complexity of the family of solutions. Finally, numerical simulations of asymmetric wavepacket transmission are presented which beautifully display the rectifying effect.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2010

Phase-space characterization of complexity in quantum many-body dynamics

We propose a phase-space Wigner harmonics entropy measure for many-body quantum dynamical complexity. This measure, which reduces to the well known measure of complexity in classical systems and which is valid for both pure and mixed states in single-particle and many-body systems, takes into account the combined role of chaos and entanglement in the realm of quantum mechanics. The effectiveness of the measure is illustrated in the example of the Ising chain in a homogeneous tilted magnetic field. We provide numerical evidence that the multipartite entanglement generation leads to a linear increase of entropy until saturation in both integrable and chaotic regimes, so that in both cases the number of harmonics of the Wigner function grows exponentially with time. The entropy growth rate can be used to detect quantum phase transitions. The proposed entropy measure can also distinguish between integrable and chaotic many-body dynamics by means of the size of long term fluctuations which become smaller when quantum chaos sets in.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2010

A microscopic mechanism for increasing thermoelectric efficiency

We study the coupled particle and energy transport in a prototype model of interacting one-dimensional system: the disordered hard-point gas, for which numerical data suggest that the thermoelectric figure of merit ZT diverges with the system size. This result is explained in terms of a microscopic mechanism, namely the local equilibrium is characterized by the emergence of a broad stationary "modified Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution", of width much larger than the mean velocity of the particle flow.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2010

Thermalization and ergodicity in many-body open quantum systems

We study thermalization in many-body quantum systems locally coupled to an external bath. It is shown that quantum chaotic systems do thermalize, that is, they exhibit relaxation to an invariant ergodic state which, in the bulk, is well approximated by the grand canonical state. Moreover, the resulting ergodic state in the bulk does not depend on the details of the baths. On the other hand, for integrable systems the invariant state does depend on the bath and is different from the grand canonical state.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2009

Charge and spin transport in strongly correlated one-dimensional quantum systems driven far from equilibrium

We study the charge conductivity in one-dimensional prototype models of interacting particles, such as the Hubbard and the t-V spinless fermion model, when coupled to some external baths injecting and extracting particles at the boundaries. We show that, if these systems are driven far from equilibrium, a negative differential conductivity regime can arise. The above electronic models can be mapped into Heisenberg-like spin ladders coupled to two magnetic baths, so that charge transport mechanisms are explained in terms of quantum spin transport. The negative differential conductivity is due to oppositely polarized ferromagnetic domains which arise at the edges of the chain, and therefore inhibit spin transport: we propose a qualitative understanding of the phenomenon by analyzing the localization of one-magnon excitations created at the borders of a ferromagnetic region. We also show that negative differential conductivity is stable against breaking of integrability. Numerical simulations of non-equilibrium time evolution have been performed by employing a Monte-Carlo wave function approach and a matrix product operator formalism.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

An exactly solvable model of a highly efficient thermoelectric engine

We propose a simple classical dynamical model of a thermoelectric (or thermochemical) heat engine based on a pair of ideal gas containers connected by two unequal scattering channels. The model is solved analytically and it is shown that a suitable combination of parameters can be chosen such that the engine operates at Carnot's efficiency.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2009

A one dimensional hard-point gas as a thermoelectric engine

We demonstrate the possibility to build a thermoelectric engine using a one dimensional gas of molecules with unequal masses and hard-point interaction. Most importantly, we show that the efficiency of this engine is determined by a new parameter YT which is different from the well known figure of merit ZT. Even though the efficiency of this particular model is low, our results shed new light on the problem and open the possibility to build efficient thermoelectric engines.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗