Size-Dependent Accuracy of Nanoscale Thermometers

The accuracy of two classes of nanoscale thermometers is estimated in terms of size and system-dependent properties using the spin-boson model. We consider solid state thermometers, where the energy splitting is tuned by thermal properties of the material, and fluorescent organic thermometers, in which the fluorescence intensity depends on the thermal population of conformational states of the thermometer. The results of the theoretical model compare well with the accuracy reported for several nanothermometers that have been used to measure local temperature inside living cells.