Geometric energy transport and refrigeration with driven quantum dots

We study geometric energy transport in a slowly driven single-level quantum dot weakly coupled to electronic contacts and with strong on-site interaction, which can be either repulsive or attractive. Exploiting a recently discovered fermionic duality for the evolution operator of the master equation, we provide compact and insightful analytic expressions of energy pumping curvatures for any pair of driving parameters. This enables us to systematically identify and explain the pumping mechanisms for different driving schemes, thereby also comparing energy and charge pumping. We determine the concrete impact of many-body interactions and show how particle-hole symmetry and fermionic duality manifest, both individually and in combination, as system-parameter symmetries of the energy pumping curvatures. Building on this transport analysis, we study the driven dot acting as a heat pump or refrigerator, where we find that the sign of the on-site interaction plays a crucial role in the performance of these thermal machines.

Automated summary

In this study, we investigate geometric energy transport in a single-level quantum dot with weak coupling to electronic contacts and strong on-site interaction. We provide analytic expressions for energy pumping curvatures under different driving schemes, and compare energy and charge pumping. We also analyze the impact of many-body interactions and the manifestations of particle-hole symmetry and fermionic duality on the energy pumping curvatures. Furthermore, we study the performance of the driven dot as a heat pump or refrigerator and find that the sign of the on-site interaction is crucial.