Eur. Phys. J. B (2013) 86: 341
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2013-40445-0

Regular Article

Negative differential thermal resistance in coupled rotor lattices

Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, 510006 Guangzhou, P.R. China

^a e-mail: aibq@scnu.edu.cn

Received: 27 April 2013
Received in final form: 30 May 2013
Published online: 1 August 2013

Abstract

We study heat conduction through one-dimensional homogeneous lattices in the presence of the anharmonic nearest-neighbor interaction without an on-site potential. We observe the occurrence of negative differential thermal resistance (NDTR); i.e., there exists a region of temperature difference where the heat flux decreases as the applied temperature difference increases. The strength of nearest-neighbor interactions has negative effects on the occurrence of NDTR. However, the NDTR regime barely changes with rotation frequency. It is also proven that the on-site potential is not a necessary condition for NDTR. These investigations will contribute to the fabrication of thermal devices where NDTR plays an important role.