Berlin 2012 – scientific programme

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TT: Fachverband Tiefe Temperaturen

TT 13: Transport: Poster Session

TT 13.17: Poster

Monday, March 26, 2012, 15:00–19:00, Poster B

Thermoelectric performance of quantum pumps — •Federica Haupt¹, Stefan Juergens¹, Michael Moskalets², and Janine Splettstoesser¹ — ¹Institut für Theorie der Statistischen Physik, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany — ²Department of Metal and Semiconductor Physics, Kharkiv Polytechnical Institute, 61002 Kharkiv, Ukraine

Prototypical examples of quantum pumps are systems formed by one or a few coupled quantum dots, whose tunneling barriers and/or energy levels are modulated in time by external gate voltages. These devices can be regarded in many respects as quantum engines, with the difference that while classical engines are typically systems working out of equilibrium between hot and cold sources, the phenomenon of quantum pumping becomes especially relevant around equilibrium conditions. This makes a non trivial task the generalization to quantum pumps of concepts such as efficiency, typically used to quantify the performance of classical engines. To address this problem, we investigate in detail charge and energy current in different models of interacting quantum pumps, as well as their thermoelectric properties when brought out of equilibrium. This allows us to identify suitable quantities that permit to characterize the performance of the pump both at and out of equilibrium.