March 6, 2008
11:00 am in Howey Physics N110

 

Giulio Casati
Center for Nonlinear and Complex Systems
Universita’ dell’Insubria, Como, Italy

"Classical and quantum chaos:
understanding and control of heat flow"

The understanding of the underlying dynamical mechanisms which determine the macroscopic laws of heat conduction is a long standing goal of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. A better understanding of such mechanism may lead to applications based on the possibility to control the heat flow. Indeed, a model of thermal rectifier has been recently proposed in which heat can flow preferentially in one direction. Although this model is far away from a prototype realization, it is based on a mechanism of very general nature and, as such, is suitable of improvement and may eventually lead to real applications.

Of particular interest is the problem, almost completely unexplored, of the derivation of Fourier law from quantum dynamics. To this end we discuss heat transport in a model of a quantum interacting spin chain and we provide clear numerical evidence that Fourier law sets in above the transition to quantum chaos.

Finally we consider the transport of particles and heat in open classical ergodic billiards. We show that thermoelectric efficiency can approach the Carnot limit for sufficiently complex charge carrier molecules.