Regensburg 2019 – scientific programme
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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik
DY 30: Statistical Physics far from Thermal Equilibrium
DY 30.3: Talk
Wednesday, April 3, 2019, 10:45–11:00, H6
Thermoelectric performance of topological boundary modes — •Sina Böhling1, Georg Engelhardt2, Gloria Platero3, and Gernot Schaller1 — 1Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany — 2Beijing Computational Science Research Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China — 3Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, CSIC, Madrid, Spain
We investigate quantum transport and thermoelectrical properties of a finite-size Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model,
a paradigmatic model for a one-dimensional topological insulator, which displays topologically
protected edge states.
By coupling the model to two fermionic reservoirs at its ends, we can explore the non-equilibrium dynamics of the system.
Investigating the energy-resolved transmission and the current, we find that these observables
can be used to detect the topologically non-trivial phase.
In addition, we point out that the edge states can be exploited to design a refrigerator driven by chemical work or a heat engine driven by a thermal gradient, respectively.
These thermal devices do not require asymmetric couplings and are topologically protected against symmetry-preserving perturbations. Their maximum efficiencies significantly exceed that of a single quantum dot device at comparable coupling strengths.
[ 1] S. Böhling, G. Engelhardt, G. Platero, and G. Schaller, Thermoelectric performance of topological boundary modes, Phys. Rev. B 98, 035132 (2018)