Conductivity Tensor Research Articles

Inverse design method of thermal devices with thermal Hall effect

Efficient thermal management is important for both performance and efficiency improvements of thermal devices. For designing reasonable materials and structures of such devices, various design methods were proposed where the material thermal conductivity tensors were positive definite and symmetric based on the physical requirements. Here, we propose an inverse design method for thermal devices considering the thermal Hall effect, which makes the material thermal conductivity tensor asymmetric. Enlarging the design space consisting of the symmetric constitutive tensors to that of the asymmetric ones, there is a possibility of improving the theoretical performance limit of thermal devices. We formulate an inverse problem based on the free material optimization formalism, parameterizing the design space so that the physically available property could be naturally satisfied. Several numerical experiments are provided to show the validity and the utility of the proposed method.

A differential scheme for the effective conductivity of microinhomogeneous materials with the Hall effect

A differential scheme is proposed for the calculation of the components of the effective electrical conductivity tensor of a microinhomogeneous material taking into account the Hall effect. The presence of the Hall effect results in an appearance of asymmetry of the components of the conductivity tensor and a dependence of these components on the magnitude of the magnetic field applied to the material. In this case, the differential scheme leads to a system of matrix differential equations that were solved numerically in the current work. This solution was obtained for materials containing spherical or cylindrical inclusions. In the case of cylindrical inclusions, the results were obtained for inclusions with the symmetry axes parallel or orthogonal to the magnetic field. A comparison of the results obtained by the proposed methodology to the low concentration approximation was carried out.

Scale-Dependent Heat Transport in Dissipative Media via Electromagnetic Fluctuations.

We develop a theory for heat transport via electromagnetic waves inside media, and use it to derive a spatially nonlocal thermal conductivity tensor, in terms of the electromagnetic Green's function and potential, for any given system. While typically negligible for optically dense bulk media, the electromagnetic component of conductivity can be significant for optically dilute media, and shows regimes of Fourier transport as well as unhindered transport. Moreover, the electromagnetic contribution is relevant even for dense media, when in the presence of interfaces, as exemplified for the in-plane conductivity of a nanosheet, which shows a variety of phenomena, including absence of a Fourier regime.

Stochastic modelling of symmetric positive definite material tensors

Spatial symmetries and invariances play an important role in the behaviour of materials and should be respected in the description and modelling of material properties. The focus here is the class of physically symmetric and positive definite tensors, as they appear often in the description of materials, and one wants to be able to prescribe certain classes of spatial symmetries and invariances for each member of the whole ensemble, while at the same time demanding that the mean or expected value of the ensemble be subject to a possibly ‘higher’ spatial invariance class. We formulate a modelling framework which not only respects these two requirements—positive definiteness and invariance—but also allows a fine control over orientation on one hand, and strength / size on the other. As the set of positive definite tensors is not a linear space, but rather an open convex cone in the linear space of physically symmetric tensors, we consider it advantageous to widen the notion of mean to the so-called Fréchet mean on a metric space, which is based on distance measures or metrics between positive definite tensors other than the usual Euclidean one. It is shown how the random ensemble can be modelled and generated, independently in its scaling and orientational or directional aspects, with a Lie algebra representation via a memoryless transformation. The parameters which describe the elements in this Lie algebra are then to be considered as random fields on the domain of interest. As an example, a 2D and a 3D model of steady-state heat conduction in a human proximal femur, a bone with high material anisotropy, is modelled with a random thermal conductivity tensor, and the numerical results show the distinct impact of incorporating into the constitutive model different material uncertainties—scaling, orientation, and prescribed material symmetry—on the desired quantities of interest.

Three-dimensional magnetotelluric modeling with nontrivial anisotropy by a regularization approach

The regularization approach has been successfully applied to remove spurious solutions in the magnetotelluric (MT) forward problems of isotropic Earth media. However, spurious modes are more likely to occur in numerical solutions of anisotropic media, as electrical anisotropy introduces many more complications to electromagnetic (EM) induction in such media. This study focuses on developing the regularization approach to 3D MT forward problems of anisotropic media, especially those of nontrivial anisotropy. The governing equation is now derived with a conductivity tensor, and an accordingly adapted form of a scaled grad-div term is augmented to regularize the solutions and constrain the divergence-free condition. A new scaling scheme is proposed to cope with the complicated distribution of current densities in nontrivial anisotropy media, and an effective conductivity is approximated by the diagonal elements of the conductivity tensor to formulate the scaling factor. Numerical tests show that, for various models of electrical anisotropy, the regularization approach can effectively enforce the divergence condition and successfully suppress spurious solutions. Therefore, for nontrivial anisotropy media, this approach can also improve the efficiency of the iterative solvers while retaining the accuracy of the solutions. The derivation of the governing equation is based on the MT method. However, this strategy should be generally applicable to other frequency-domain EM methods.

Fast Fourier-Chebyshev Approach to Real-Space Simulations of the Kubo Formula.

The Kubo formula is a cornerstone in our understanding of near-equilibrium transport phenomena. While conceptually elegant, the application of Kubo's linear-response theory to interesting problems is hindered by the need for algorithms that are accurate and scalable to large lattice sizes beyond one spatial dimension. Here, we propose a general framework to numerically study large systems, which combines the spectral accuracy of Chebyshev expansions with the efficiency of divide-and-conquer methods. We use the hybrid algorithm to calculate the two-terminal conductance and the bulk conductivity tensor of 2D lattice models with over 10^{7} sites. By efficiently sampling the microscopic information contained in billions of Chebyshev moments, the algorithm is able to accurately resolve the linear-response properties of complex systems in the presence of quenched disorder. Our results lay the groundwork for future studies of transport phenomena in previously inaccessible regimes.

Sequential formulation of all‐way coupled finite strain thermoporomechanics for largely deformable gas hydrate deposits

AbstractWe develop a numerically stable sequential formulation of thermoporomechanics for largely deformable gas hydrate deposits, extended from the fixed stress split of infinitesimal transformation. Constitutive equations are based on the total Lagrangian approach for both flow and geomechanics, including dynamic full tensor permeability and thermal conductivity updated from the deformation gradient. For space discretization, we take the cell‐centered finite volume and node‐based finite element method for flow and geomechanics, respectively. Then, we propose a sequential implicit method for all‐way coupled thermoporomechanics, where the nonisothermal multiphase flow problem of gas hydrates is solved implicitly first and then the geomechanics problem is solved implicitly at the next step. During solution of the flow problem, we fix the rate of first Pioal total stress for numerical stability as well as apply porosity correction and entropy correction to account for geomechanical effects. We test numerical examples where flow and geomechanics parameters are based on deep oceanic gas hydrate deposits. When applying depressurization, even though the results between the infinitesimal transformation and finite strain geomechanics are similar in the early stages due to small deformation, we find differences between them in the late times as deformation becomes large. Accordingly, permeability and thermal conductivity tensors become nonisotropic full tensors although they are initially isotropic. We identify numerical stability of the developed sequential method from the test cases that exhibit the highly complex coupled gas hydrate systems with large deformation. Thus, the proposed sequential formulation can be applied in largely deformable gas hydrate systems.

Electric and thermoelectric response for Weyl and multi-Weyl semimetals in planar Hall configurations including the effects of strain

We investigate the response tensors in planar Hall (thermal Hall) configurations such that a three-dimensional Weyl or multi-Weyl semimetal is subjected to the influence of an electric field E (temperature gradient ∇rT) and an effective magnetic field Btot oriented at a generic angle with respect to each other. The effective magnetic field consists of two parts — (a) an actual/physical magnetic field B, and (b) an emergent magnetic field B5 which quantifies the elastic deformations of the sample. B5 is an axial pseudomagnetic field because it couples to conjugate nodal points with opposite chiralities with opposite signs. We study the interplay of the orientations of these two components of Btot with respect to the direction of the electric field (temperature gradient) and elucidate how it affects the characteristics involving the chirality of the node. Additionally, we show that the magnitude and sharpness of the conductivity tensor profiles strongly depend on the value of the topological charge at the node in question.

Hall response of locally correlated two-dimensional electrons at low density

We study the Hall constant in a homogeneous two-dimensional fluid of correlated electrons immersed in a perpendicular magnetic field, with special focus on the regime of low carrier density. The model consists of a one-band tight-binding model and a momentum-independent causal self-energy, representing interaction-induced correlations effects that are restricted to be local in space. We write general gauge-invariant equations for the conductivity tensor at first order in the magnetic field and solve them numerically—–analytically when possible—in a minimal model of anisotropic square lattice with constant self-energy. Our results show that deviations from the universal behavior of the Hall constant, as observed in the semiclassical regime, appear upon entering the quantum regime, where the Fermi energy and interaction are comparable energy scales. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Sensitivity analysis for the eddy current testing of carbon fiber reinforced plastic materials

In this work, a parametric study is carried out on carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) materials to investigate how the spatially varying fiber distribution influences the measured signal in an eddy current testing (ECT) configuration. The measurement setup was modeled using finite element method, while the fiber distribution is taken into account by an inhomogeneous anisotropic conductivity tensor. The study revealed a trade-off relation between the size of the ECT coil and the maximal dynamic range of the ECT signal, which contributes to the understanding of the connection between the fiber arrangement and the ECT signal and provides an opportunity for optimal ECT coil design.

Modeling electromechanical behaviors of soft conductive composites embedded with liquid metal fibers

Soft conductive materials are key components of soft electronics, sensors, actuators, and wearable devices. The electrical conductivity matrix or tensor of soft conductive materials is usually deformation-dependent, but there is a lack of constitutive modeling work on it. To fill this knowledge gap, we consider a soft conductive composite embedded with liquid metal fibers as an example. The difference between the material conductivity and spatial conductivity is clarified briefly. In addition, we devise two constitutive models for the deformation-dependent conductivity tensors. These two models are equivalent but in different formats, one using stretch ratios and the other using invariants. Besides the conductivity models, a transversely isotropic hyperelastic model is also presented to model the mechanical behaviors. These analytical models are fitted and validated using data from multiphysics computational modeling on representative volume elements. Note that the proposed models can also be used for other soft conductive materials as well as thermal conductivity modeling.

Topanga: A kinetic ion plasma code for large-scale ionospheric simulations on magnetohydrodynamic timescales

Topanga is a kinetic ion code developed for simulating large-scale plasma phenomena in the Earth's ionosphere on magnetohydrodynamic timescales. It is a domain-decomposed parallel code that runs on high-performance computing platforms. Features of Topanga include spherical geometry for simplified boundary conditions and computational efficiency; a hybrid plasma model with inertia-less fluid electrons, kinetic ions, and an electric field specified via an Ohm's law; a Maxwell-FDTD (finite difference time domain) plasma model which retains the displacement current in Maxwell's equations and models electron currents in the ionosphere with a tensor conductivity; sponge-layer boundary conditions for absorption of electromagnetic and plasma waves incident on the domain boundaries; and a novel mixed-implicit algorithm for evolving the EM fields inside the Maxwell-FDTD region that is stable over many orders of magnitude in the electron–ion collision frequency. We verify the numerical methods used in Topanga on a pair of test problems. The first test involves modeling a three-dimensional collisionless shock using the hybrid set of equations. The second test involves modeling a spherical TEM mode in vacuum using the Maxwell-FDTD set of equations. Finally, we demonstrate how using the combined set of hybrid and Maxwell-FDTD equations to model the Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test recovers a “missing” EM signal on the ground that is not present when using only the hybrid set of equations. The magnitude of this signal in the simulation containing the Maxwell-FDTD region agrees well with the E3a portion of the magnetohydrodynamic electromagnetic pulse from Starfish Prime.

Multiscale homogenization of aluminum honeycomb structures: Thermal analysis with orthotropic representative volume element and finite element method

This study develops a thermal homogenization model for an aluminum honeycomb panel using the representative volume element (RVE) concept, considering the orthotropic nature of the structure. The RVE thermal homogenization method is a numerical approach for analyzing heterogeneous materials. It employs a constitutive model based on RVE performance to represent thermal behavior. Effective parameters are determined through averaging techniques, and the finite element method solves the thermal problem, accounting for structure topology and material behavior. The resulting heat conduction problem is solved using the finite element method (FEM) to evaluate the effective thermal characteristics. A 3D RVE is generated based on the honeycomb panel's geometry, evaluating thermal conductivity tensor and describing the medium's thermal performance. Numerical tests validate the model by comparing it with the real honeycomb structure under sinusoidal heat flux. Results show good correlation, with maximum temperatures of 1101.9 °C in the real structure and 1096.4 °C in the medium. The homogeneous medium is further used to investigate thermal performance under convective conditions with varying panel thicknesses, achieving over 77 °C temperature reduction with the thickest panel. Natural vibration behavior is considered, demonstrating strong correlation between modal responses and natural frequencies. This modeling approach efficiently analyzes thermal behavior in large honeycomb structures, reducing computational time significantly.

Modeling Method of C/C-ZrC Composites and Prediction of Equivalent Thermal Conductivity Tensor Based on Asymptotic Homogenization

Modeling Method of C/C-ZrC Composites and Prediction of Equivalent Thermal Conductivity Tensor Based on Asymptotic Homogenization

Quantum Hall and Shubnikov-de Haas Effects in Graphene within Non-Markovian Langevin Approach

The theory of open quantum systems is applied to study galvano-, thermo-magnetic, and magnetization phenomena in axial symmetric two-dimensional systems. Charge carriers are considered as quantum particles interacting with the environment through a one-body (mean-field) mechanism. The dynamics of charge carriers is affected by the average collision time that takes effectively into account two-body effects. The functional dependencies of the average collision time on the external uniform magnetic field, concentration and temperature are phenomenologically treated. Analytical expressions are obtained for the tensors of electric and thermal conductivity and/or resistivity. The developed theory is applied to describe the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations and quantum Hall effect in graphene and GaAs/AlxGa1−xAs heterostructure. The dependencies of magnetization and thermal conductivity on the magnetic field are also predicted.

Onsager Reciprocal Relation between Anomalous Transverse Coefficients of an Anisotropic Antiferromagnet.

Whenever two irreversible processes occur simultaneously, time-reversal symmetry of microscopic dynamics gives rise, on a macroscopic level, to Onsager's reciprocal relations, which impose constraints on the number of independent components of any transport coefficient tensor. Here, we show that in the antiferromagnetic YbMnBi_{2}, which displays a strong temperature-dependent anisotropy, Onsager's reciprocal relations are strictly satisfied for anomalous electric (σ_{ij}^{A}) and anomalous thermoelectric (α_{ij}^{A}) conductivity tensors. In contradiction with what was recently reported by Pan etal. [Nat. Mater. 21, 203 (2022)NMAACR1476-112210.1038/s41563-021-01149-2], we find that σ_{ij}^{A}(H)=σ_{ji}^{A}(-H) and α_{ij}^{A}(H)=α_{ji}^{A}(-H). This equality holds in the whole temperature window irrespective of the relative weights of the intrinsic or extrinsic mechanisms. The α_{ij}^{A}/σ_{ij}^{A} ratio is close to k_{B}/e at room temperature but peaks to an unprecedented magnitude of 2.9k_{B}/e at ∼150 K, which may involve nondegenerate carriers of small Fermi surface pockets.

Plasmons in a Strip with an Anisotropic Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Fully Screened by a Metal Gate

Interest in anisotropic two-dimensional electron systems and in plasma oscillations in them has been growing recently. Plasmons in a strip with a two-dimensional electron gas with an elliptic Fermi surface that is located near a metal gate, which screens the fields of the two-dimensional gas, have been theoretically analyzed. The plasma eigenmodes in this system have been found analytically in the limit of strong screening and the frequencies and damping rates of these modes have been determined taking into account anisotropy, magnetic field, and electromagnetic retardation effects. It has been shown that the fundamental mode in this limit is an edge magnetoplasmon with a linear dispersion relation. The frequency, damping rate, and velocity of this magnetoplasmon are independent of the magnetic field, and the localization length near the edge is proportional to the magnetic field. The square of the frequency of any other mode is the sum of the square of the frequency of this plasma mode without magnetic field and the square of the cyclotron frequency with a coefficient, which is independent of the orientation of the conductivity tensor with respect to the edges of the strip but depends on the principal values of the effective mass tensor when electromagnetic retardation effects are taken into account.

Shift Current with Gaussian Basis Sets and General Prescription for Maximally Symmetric Summations in the Irreducible Brillouin Zone.

The bulk photovoltaic effect is an experimentally verified phenomenon by which a direct charge current is induced within a non-centrosymmetric material by light illumination. Calculations of its intrinsic contribution, the shift current, are nowadays amenable from first-principles employing plane-wave bases. In this work, we present a general method for evaluating the shift conductivity in the framework of localized Gaussian basis sets that can be employed in both the length and velocity gauges, carrying the idiosyncrasies of the quantum-chemistry approach. The (possibly magnetic) symmetry of the system is exploited in order to fold the reciprocal space summations to the representation domain, allowing us to reduce computation time and unveiling the complete symmetry properties of the conductivity tensor under general light polarization.

Controlled light energy and perfect absorption in twisted bilayer graphene.

We theoretically study the components of the dynamical optical conductivity tensor and associated finite-frequency dielectric response of bilayer graphene (BLG), where one graphene layer can slide in-plane or commensurably twist on top of the other. Our results reveal that even slight deviations from the conventional AA, AB, or AC stacking orders yield a finite transverse conductivity. Upon calculating the optical conductivity of the BLG at any arbitrary interlayer displacement, Δ, and chemical potential, µ, it is utilized for a layered device with an epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) insert and metallic back plate. We find that both Δ and µ can effectively control the polarization, energy flow direction, and absorptivity of linearly polarized incident light. By appropriately tailoring Δ and µ, near-perfect absorption and tunable dissipation can be accessible through particular angles of incidence and a broad range of ENZ layer thicknesses. Our findings can be applied to the design of programmable optoelectronics devices.

On non-local electrical transport in anisotropic metals

We discuss various aspects of nonlocal electrical transport in anisotropic metals. For a metal with circular Fermi surface, the scattering rates entering the local conductivity and viscosity tensors are well-defined, corresponding to eigenfrequencies of the linearized collision operator. For anisotropic metals, we provide generalized formulas for these scattering rates and use a variational approximation to show how they relate to microscopic transition probabilities. We develop a simple model of a collision operator for a metal of arbitrary Fermi surface with finite number of quasi-conserved quantities, and derive expressions for the wavevector-dependent conductivity σ(q) and the spatially-varying conductivity σ(x) for a long, narrow channel. We apply this to the case of different rates for momentum-conserving and momentum-relaxing scattering, deriving closed-form expressions for σ(q) and σ(x) — beyond generalizing from circular to arbitrary Fermi surface geometry, this represents an improvement over existing methods which solve the relevant differential equation numerically rather than in closed form. For the specific case of a diamond Fermi surface, we show that, if transport signatures were interpreted via a model for a circular Fermi surface, the diagnosis of the underlying transport regime would differ based on experimental orientation and based on whether σ(q) or σ(x) was considered. Finally, we discuss the bulk conductivity. While the common lore is that “momentum”-conserving scattering does not affect bulk resistivity, we show that crystal momentum-conserving scattering — such as normal electron-electron scattering — can affect the bulk resistivity for an anisotropic Fermi surface. We derive a simple formula for this contribution.