Quantum heat valve and diode of strongly coupled defects in amorphous material

The mechanical strain can control the frequency of two-level atoms in amorphous material. In this work, we would like to employ two coupled two-level atoms to manipulate the magnitude and direction of heat transport by controlling mechanical strain to realize the function of a thermal switch and valve. It is found that a high-performance heat diode can be realized in the wide Piezo voltage range at different temperatures. We also discuss the dependence of the rectification factor on temperatures and couplings of heat reservoirs. We find that the higher temperature differences correspond to the larger rectification effect. The asymmetry system-reservoir coupling strength can enhance the magnitude of heat transfer, and the impact of asymmetric and symmetric coupling strength on the performance of the heat diode is complementary. It may provide an efficient way to modulate and control heat transport's magnitude and flow preference. This work may give insight into designing and tuning quantum heat machines.
Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures;Accepted for publication in Physical Review E