ABSTRACT
We address the role of geometrical asymmetry in the occurrence of spin rectification in two-dimensional quantum spin chains subject to two reservoirs at the boundaries, modeled by quantum master equations. We discuss the differences in the rectification for some one-dimensional cases, and present numerical results of the rectification coefficient R for different values of the anisotropy parameter of the XXZ model, and different configurations of boundary drives, including both local and nonlocal dissipators. Our results also show that geometrical asymmetry, along with inhomogeneous magnetic fields, can induce spin current rectification even in the XX model, indicating that the phenomenon of rectification due to geometry may be of general occurrence in quantum spin systems.
ABSTRACT
This work is devoted to the investigation of nontrivial transport properties in many-body quantum systems. Precisely, we study transport in the steady state of spin-1/2 Heisenberg XXZ chains, driven out of equilibrium by two magnetic baths at their end points. We take graded versions of the model, i.e. asymmetric chains in which some structure gradually changes in space. We investigate how we can manipulate and control the energy and spin currents of such chains by tuning external and/or inner parameters. In particular, we describe the occurrence of energy current rectification and its reversal due to the application of external magnetic fields. We show that, after carefully chosen inner parameters for the system, by turning on an external magnetic field we can find spin and energy currents propagating in different directions. More interestingly, we may find cases in which rectifications of energy and spin currents occur in opposite directions, i.e. if the energy current is larger when flowing from left to right side, then the spin current is larger if it flows from right to left side. We still describe situations with inversion of the energy current direction as we increase the system asymmetry. We stress that our work aims the development of theoretical knowledge as well as the stimulation of future experimental applications.
ABSTRACT
In order to better understand the minimal ingredients for thermal rectification, we perform a detailed investigation of a simple spin chain, namely, the open XX model with a Lindblad dynamics involving global dissipators. We use a Jordan-Wigner transformation to derive a mathematical formalism to compute the heat currents and other properties of the steady state. We have rigorous results to prove the occurrence of thermal rectification even for slightly asymmetrical chains. Interestingly, we describe cases where the rectification does not decay to zero as we increase the system size, that is, the rectification remains finite in the thermodynamic limit. We also describe some numerical results for more asymmetrical chains. The presence of thermal rectification in this simple model indicates that the phenomenon is of general occurrence in quantum spin systems.
ABSTRACT
We study a finite spin-1/2 Ising chain with a spatially alternating transverse field of period 2. By means of a Jordan-Wigner transformation for even and odd sites, we are able to map it into a one-dimensional model of free fermions. We determine the ground-state energies in the positive- and negative-parity subspaces (subspaces with an even or odd total number of down spins, respectively) and compare them in order to establish the ground-state energy for the entire Hamiltonian. We derive closed-form expressions for this energy gap between the different parity subspaces and analyze its behavior and dependence on the system size in the various regimes of the applied field. Finally, we suggest an expression for the correlation length of such a model that is consistent with the various values found in the literature for its behavior in the vicinity of critical points.
