We investigate the microscopic mechanism of quantum energy transfer in the
nonequilibrium spin-boson model. By developing a nonequilibrium
polaron-transformed Redfield equation based on fluctuation decoupling, we
dissect the energy transfer into multi-boson associated processes with even or
odd parity. Based on this, we analytically evaluate the energy flux, which
smoothly bridges the transfer dynamics from the weak spin-boson coupling regime
to the strong-coupling one. Our analysis explains previous limiting predictions
and provides a unified interpretation of several observations, including
coherence-enhanced heat flux and absence of negative differential thermal
conductance in the nonequilibrium spin-boson model. The results may find wide
applications for the energy and information control in nanodevices.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Cao, Jianshu

Ren, Jie

Wang, Chen

Scientific Reports

English

arXiv

Unraveling the microscopic mechanism of quantum energy transfer across two-level systems provides crucial insights to the optimal design and potential applications of low-dimensional nanodevices. Here, we study the non-equilibrium spin-boson model as a minimal prototype and develop a fluctuation-decoupled quantum master equation approach that is valid ranging from the weak to the strong system-bath coupling regime. The exact expression of energy flux is analytically established, which dissects the energy transfer as multiple boson processes with even and odd parity. Our analysis provides a unified interpretation of several observations, including coherence-enhanced heat flux and negative differential thermal conductance. The results will have broad implications for the fine control of energy transfer in nano-structural devices.Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and TechnologyLos Alamos National Laboratory. Laboratory Directed Research and Development ProgramNational Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant CHE-1112825)United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Grant N99001-10-1-4063

DSpace@MIT

Nonequilibrium Energy Transfer at Nanoscale: A Unified Theory from Weak to Strong Coupling

AbstractUnraveling the microscopic mechanism of quantum energy transfer across two-level systems provides crucial insights to the optimal design and potential applications of low-dimensional nanodevices. Here, we study the non-equilibrium spin-boson model as a minimal prototype and develop a fluctuation-decoupled quantum master equation approach that is valid ranging from the weak to the strong system-bath coupling regime. The exact expression of energy flux is analytically established, which dissects the energy transfer as multiple boson processes with even and odd parity. Our analysis provides a unified interpretation of several observations, including coherence-enhanced heat flux and negative differential thermal conductance. The results will have broad implications for the fine control of energy transfer in nano-structural devices.</jats:p

Chen Wang

Jie Ren

Jianshu Cao

Crossref

Nonequilibrium Energy Transfer at Nanoscale: A Unified Theory from Weak
  to Strong Coupling

Nonequilibrium Energy Transfer at Nanoscale: A Unified Theory from Weak to Strong Coupling

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