Theoretical constraints on reciprocal and non-reciprocal many-body radiative heat transfer

Abstract

We study the constraints on reciprocal and non-reciprocal many-body radiative heat transfer imposed by symmetry and the second law of thermodynamics. We show that the symmetry of such a many-body system in general forms a magnetic group, and the constraints of the magnetic group on the heat transfer can be derived using a generalized reciprocity theorem. We also show that the second law of thermodynamics provides additional constraints in the form of a nodal conservation law of heat flow at equilibrium. As an application, we provide a systematic approach to determine the existence of persistent heat current in arbitrary many-body systems.

8 pages, 3 figures

References in corpus (3)

• Radiative thermal diode driven by non-reciprocal surface waves
• Topological Angular Momentum and Radiative Heat Transport in Closed Orbits
• Nonreciprocal radiative heat transfer between two planar bodies

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• Linear and nonlinear response for radiative heat transfer in many-body systems
• Quantum Self-Propulsion of an Inhomogeneous Object out of Thermal Equilibrium
• Spontaneous Torque on an Inhomogeneous Chiral Body out of Thermal Equilibrium