Effect of quantum resonances on local temperature in nonequilibrium open systems

Measuring local temperatures of open systems out of equilibrium is emerging as a novel approach to study the local thermodynamic properties of nanosystems. An operational protocol has been proposed to determine the local temperature by coupling a probe to the system and then minimizing the perturbation to a certain local observable of the probed system. In this paper, we first show that such a local temperature is unique for a single quantum impurity and the given local observable. We then extend this protocol to open systems consisting of multiple quantum impurities by proposing a local minimal perturbation condition (LMPC). The influence of quantum resonances on the local temperature is elucidated by both analytic and numerical results. In particular, we demonstrate that quantum resonances may give rise to strong oscillations of the local temperature along a multi-impurity chain under a thermal bias.

Automated summary

Measuring local temperatures of open systems out of equilibrium is a novel approach to study the local thermodynamic properties of nanosystems. An operational protocol has been proposed to determine the unique local temperature by minimizing perturbations to a certain local observable. The influence of quantum resonances on the local temperature in multi-impurity chains under a thermal bias is elucidated through analytical and numerical results.