Fundamental aspects of steady-state conversion of heat to work at the nanoscale

被引:554
作者
Benenti, Giuliano [1 ,2 ]
Casati, Giulio [1 ,3 ]
Saito, Keiji [4 ]
Whitney, Robert S. [5 ]
机构
[1] Univ Insubria, Ctr Nonlinear & Complex Syst, Dipartimento Sci & Alta Tecnol, Via Valleggio 11, I-22100 Como, Italy
[2] Ist Nazl Fis Nucl, Sez Milano, Via Celoria 16, I-20133 Milan, Italy
[3] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Norte, Int Inst Phys, Natal, RN, Brazil
[4] Keio Univ, Dept Phys, Kohoku Ku, 3-14-1 Hiyoshi, Yokohama, Kanagawa 2238522, Japan
[5] Univ Grenoble Alpes, Lab Phys & Modelisat Milieux Condenses UMR 5493, 25 Ave Martyrs,BP 166, F-38042 Grenoble, France
来源
PHYSICS REPORTS-REVIEW SECTION OF PHYSICS LETTERS | 2017年 / 694卷
关键词
Thermoelectricity; Quantum thermodynamics; Seebeck effect; Peltier cooling; Entropy production; Second law of thermodynamics; Quantum transport; Dynamical quantum systems; Scattering theory; Master equations; Stochastic thermodynamics; Quantum dots; Quantum point contacts; Quantum Hall effect; Andreev reflection; Linear response; Onsager relations; Thermal conductance; Thermoelectric figure of merit; Non-equilibrium thermodynamics; Finite-time thermodynamics; ENERGY-GAP STRUCTURE; THERMAL CONDUCTANCE; FINITE-TIME; BROWNIAN MOTORS; MAXIMUM POWER; THERMOELECTRIC TRANSPORT; DEPENDENT THERMOPOWER; MOLECULAR JUNCTIONS; ENTROPY PRODUCTION; STATISTICAL-THEORY;
D O I
10.1016/j.physrep.2017.05.008
中图分类号
O4 [物理学];
学科分类号
0702 ;
摘要
In recent years, the study of heat to work conversion has been re-invigorated by nanotechnology. Steady-state devices do this conversion without any macroscopic moving parts, through steady-state flows of microscopic particles such as electrons, photons, phonons, etc. This review aims to introduce some of the theories used to describe these steady-state flows in a variety of mesoscopic or nanoscale systems. These theories are introduced in the context of idealized machines which convert heat into electrical power (heat engines) or convert electrical power into a heat flow (refrigerators). In this sense, the machines could be categorized as thermoelectrics, although this should be understood to include photovoltaics when the heat source is the sun. As quantum mechanics is important for most such machines, they fall into the field of quantum thermodynamics. In many cases, the machines we consider have few degrees of freedom, however the reservoirs of heat and work that they interact with are assumed to be macroscopic. This review discusses different theories which can take into account different aspects of mesoscopic and nanoscale physics, such as coherent quantum transport, magnetic-field induced effects (including topological ones such as the quantum Hall effect), and single electron charging effects. It discusses the efficiency of thermoelectric conversion, and the thermoelectric figure of merit. More specifically, the theories presented are (i) linear response theory with or without magnetic fields, (ii) Landauer scattering theory in the linear response regime and far from equilibrium, (iii) Green-Kubo formula for strongly interacting systems within the linear response regime, (iv) rate equation analysis for small quantum machines with or without interaction effects, (v) stochastic thermodynamic for fluctuating small systems. In all cases, we place particular emphasis on the fundamental questions about the bounds on ideal machines. Can magnetic-fields change the bounds on power or efficiency? What is the relationship between quantum theories of transport and the laws of thermodynamics? Does quantum mechanics place fundamental bounds on heat to work conversion which are absent in the thermodynamics of classical systems? (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
引用
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页码:1 / 124
页数:124
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