Heat, particle, and chiral currents in a boundary driven bosonic ladder in the presence of a gauge field

Abstract

Quantum systems can undergo phase transitions and show distinct features in different phases. The corresponding transport properties can also vary significantly due to the underlying quantum phase. We investigate the transport behaviour of a two-legged bosonic ladder in a uniform gauge field, which is known to have a Meissner-like phase and a vortex phase in the absence of dissipation. The ladder is coupled to bosonic baths at different temperatures, and we study it using the non-equilibrium Green's function method. In particular, we show the presence of a chiral current and how it is affected by the temperature bias and the dissipation strength. We also demonstrate that the opening of a gap between the lower and upper energy band results in the possibility of tuning heat and particle transport through the ladder. We show that for system parameters for which the ground state is in a vortex phase, the system is more sensitive to external perturbations.