Thermoelectric efficiency of three-terminal quantum thermal machines

Francesco Mazza (1) , Riccardo Bosisio (2) , Giuliano Benenti (3) , Vittorio Giovannetti (1) , Rosario Fazio (1) , Fabio Taddei (1)

1 NEST
2 SPEC - UMR3680 - Service de physique de l'état condensé
3 INFN - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Milano

The efficiency of a thermal engine working in the linear response regime in a multi-terminal configuration is discussed. For the generic three-terminal case, we provide a general definition of local and non-local transport coefficients: electrical and thermal conductances, and thermoelectric powers. Within the Onsager formalism, we derive analytical expressions for the efficiency at maximum power, which can be written in terms of generalized figures of merit. Furthermore, using two examples, we investigate numerically how a third terminal could improve the performance of a quantum system, and under which conditions non-local thermoelectric effects can be observed.

Keywords: thermoelectric and thermomagnetic effects; electronic transport in mesoscopic systems; nonequilibrium and irreversible thermodynamics

Domains: Physics [physics]

Francesco Mazza, Riccardo Bosisio, Giuliano Benenti, Vittorio Giovannetti, Rosario Fazio, et al.. Thermoelectric efficiency of three-terminal quantum thermal machines. New Journal of Physics, 2014, 16 (8), pp.085001. ⟨10.1088/1367-2630/16/8/085001⟩. ⟨cea-01138595⟩