Breakdown of detailed balance for thermal radiation by synthetic fields

In recent times the possibility of non-reciprocity in heat transfer between two bodies has been extensively studied. In particular the role of strong magnetic fields has been investigated. A much simpler approach with considerable flexibility would be to consider heat transfer in synthetic electric and magnetic fields which are easily applied. We demonstrate the breakdown of detailed balance for the heat transfer function $\mathcal{T} ({\omega})$, i.e. the spectrum of heat transfer between two objects due to the presence of synthetic electric and magnetic fields. The spectral measurements carry lot more physical information and were the reason for the quantum theory of radiation. We demonstrate explicitly the synthetic field induced non-reciprocity in the heat transfer transmission function between two graphene flakes and for the Casimir coupling between two objects. Unlike many other cases of heat transfer, the latter case has interesting features of the strong coupling. Further the presence of synthetic fields affects the mean occupation numbers of two membranes and propose this system for the experimental verification of the breakdown of detailed balance

Enhancement of synthetic magnetic field induced nonreciprocity via bound states in continuum in dissipatively coupled systems

The nonreciprocal propagation of light typically requires use of materials like ferrites or magneto-optical media with a strong magnetic bias or methods based on material nonlinearities which require use of strong electromagnetic fields. A simpler possibility to produce nonreciprocity is to use spatio-temporal modulations to produce magnetic fields in synthetic dimensions. In this paper we show that dissipatively coupled systems can lead to considerable enhancement of nonreciprocity in synthetic fields. The enhancement comes about from the existence of nearly nondecaying mode -bound state in continuum (BIC) in dissipatively coupled systems. The dissipative coupling occurs in a wide class of systems coupled via transmission lines, waveguides, or nano fibers. The systems could be optical resonators or microscopic qubits. Remarkably we find that for specific choice of the modulation amplitudes, the transmission say in forward direction is completely extinguished whereas in the backward direction it becomes maximum. The synthetic fields produce transmission resonances which show significant line narrowing which owe their origin to existence of BIC's in dissipative systems

Nonreciprocal heat flux via synthetic fields in linear quantum systems

We study the heat transfer between N coupled quantum resonators with applied synthetic electric and magnetic fields realized by changing the resonators parameters by external drivings. To this end we develop two general methods, based on the quantum optical master equation and on the Langevin equation for $N$ coupled oscillators where all quantum oscillators can have their own heat baths. The synthetic electric and magnetic fields are generated by a dynamical modulation of the oscillator resonance with a given phase. Using Floquet theory we solve the dynamical equations with both methods which allow us to determine the heat flux spectra and the transferred power. With apply these methods to study the specific case of a linear tight-binding chain of four quantum coupled resonators. We find that in that case, in addition to a non-reciprocal heat flux spectrum already predicted in previous investigations, the synthetic fields induce here non-reciprocity in the total heat flux hence realizing a net heat flux rectification

The plasmonic eigenvalue problem

A plasmon of a bounded domain $\Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^n$ is a non-trivial bounded harmonic function on $\mathbb{R}^n\setminus\partial\Omega$ which is continuous at $\partial\Omega$ and whose exterior and interior normal derivatives at $\partial\Omega$ have a constant ratio. We call this ratio a plasmonic eigenvalue of $\Omega$. Plasmons arise in the description of electromagnetic waves hitting a metallic particle $\Omega$. We investigate these eigenvalues and prove that they form a sequence of numbers converging to one. Also, we prove regularity of plasmons, derive a variational characterization, and prove a second order perturbation formula. The problem can be reformulated in terms of Dirichlet-Neumann operators, and as a side result we derive a formula for the shape derivative of these operators.Comment: 22 pages; replacement 8-March-14: minor corrections; to appear in Review in Mathematical Physic

Near-field heat transfer between a nanoparticle and a rough surface

In this work we focus on the surface roughness correction to the near-field radiative heat transfer between a nanoparticle and a material with a rough surface utilizing a direct perturbation theory up to second order in the surface profile. We discuss the different distance regimes for the local density of states above the rough material and the heat flux analytically and numerically. We show that the heat transfer rate is larger than that corresponding to a flat surface at short distances. At larger distances it can become smaller due to surface polariton scattering by the rough surface. For distances much smaller than the correlation length of the surface profile, we show that the results converge to a proximity approximation, whereas in the opposite limit the rough surface can be replaced by an equivalent surface layer

Anomalous photon thermal Hall effect

We predict an anomalous thermal Hall effect (ATHE) mediated by photons in networks of Weyl semi-metals. Contrary to the photon thermal Hall effect in magneto-optical systems which requires the application of an external magnetic field the ATHE in a Weyl semi-metals network is an intrinsic property of these systems. Since the Weyl semi-metals can exhibit a strong nonreciprocal response in the infrared over a broad spectral range the magnitude of thermal Hall flux in these systems can be relatively large compared to the primary flux. This ATHE paves the way for a directional control of heat flux by localy tuning the magnitude of temperature field without changing the direction of temperature gradient

Statistical properties of spontaneous emission near a rough surface

We study the lifetime of the excited state of an atom or molecule near a plane surface with a given random surface roughness. In particular, we discuss the impact of the scattering of surface modes within the rough surface. Our study is completed by considering the lateral correlation length of the decay rate and the variance discussing its relation to the C0 correlation