Berlin 2014 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 52: Ultracold atoms, ions and BEC V (with A)
Q 52.8: Talk
Thursday, March 20, 2014, 18:15–18:30, BEBEL SR140/142
A Thermoelectric Heat Engine with Ultracold Atoms — •Sebastian Krinner1, Jean-Philippe Brantut1, Charles Grenier1, Jakob Meineke1, David Stadler1, Dominik Husmann1, Corinna Kollath2, Tilman Esslinger1, and Antoine Georges3,4,5 — 1Institute for Quantum Electronics, ETH Zürich, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland — 2Universität Bonn, D-53115 Bonn, Germany — 3Centre de Physique Théorique, École Polytechnique, CNRS, 91128 Palaiseau cedex, France — 4Collège de France, 11 place Marcelin Berthelot, 75005 Paris, France — 5Université de Genève, CH-1211 Genève, Switzerland
Thermoelectric effects, such as the generation of a particle current by a temperature gradient, have their origin in a reversible coupling between heat and particle flows. These effects are fundamental probes for materials and have applications to cooling and power generation. Here, we demonstrate thermoelectricity in a fermionic cold atoms channel in the ballistic and diffusive regimes, connected to two reservoirs. We show that the magnitude of the effect and the efficiency of energy conversion can be optimized by controlling the geometry or disorder strength. Our observations are in quantitative agreement with a theoretical model based on the Landauer-Büttiker formalism. Our device provides a controllable model system to explore mechanisms of energy conversion and realizes a cold atom-based heat engine.