Speaker: Ángel Rivas
Affiliation: Dpto. de Física teórica I, UCM
Date: Wednesday, 19 October 2016 at 13:00
Location: Seminar Room, Serrano 121 (CFMAC)
The study of non-equilibrium properties in topological quantum systems is
of practical and fundamental importance. Here, we will discuss stationary
properties of a two-dimensional boson topological insulator coupled to two
thermal baths in the quantum open-system formalism [1]. Novel phenomena
appear like chiral edge heat currents that are the out-of-equilibrium
counterparts of the zero-temperature edge currents. A new set of discrete
symmetries protect these topological heat currents, differing from the
zero-temperature limit, and with a purely dissipative origin. Remarkably,
one of these currents flows opposite to the decreasing external temperature
gradient. As the starting point, we will review some basics about quantum
Hall physics and consider the case of a single external reservoir showing
prominent results like thermal erasure effects and topological thermal
currents. Finally we will comment about the possibility to experimentally
observe these new phenomenology with platforms like photonics chips and
optical lattices.
[1] A. Rivas and M. A. Martin-Delgado, Topological Heat Transport and
Symmetry-Protected Boson Currents, arXiv:1606.07651