Steady-state Current Research Articles

Multimode Brownian oscillators: Exact solutions to heat transport.

In this work, we investigate the multimode Brownian oscillators in nonequilibrium scenarios with multiple reservoirs at different temperatures. For this purpose, an algebraic method is proposed. This approach gives the exact time-local equation of motion for the reduced density operator, from which we can easily extract not only the reduced system but also hybrid bath dynamical information. The resulting steady-state heat current is found to be numerically consistent with another discrete imaginary-frequency method followed by Meir-Wingreen's formula. It is anticipated that the development in this work would constitute an indispensable component of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics for open quantum systems.

Self-Sustained Oscillation of Electrothermally Responsive Liquid Crystal Elastomer Film in Steady-State Circuits.

Self-excited oscillations have the advantages of absorbing energy from a stable environment and Self-control; therefore, Self-excited motion patterns have broader applications in micro devices, autonomous robots, sensors and energy-generating devices. In this paper, a Self-sustained curling liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) film-mass system is proposed on the basis of electrothermally responsive materials, which can realize Self-oscillation under a steady-state current. Based on the contact model and dynamic LCE model, a nonlinear dynamics model of LCE film in steady-state circuits is developed and numerical calculations are carried out using the Runge-Kutta method. Through numerical calculations, it is demonstrated that LCE film-mass systems have two motion patterns in steady-state circuits: namely, a Self-oscillation pattern and a stationary pattern. Self-sustained curling of LCE film originates from the fact that the energy absorbed by the system exceeds the energy dissipated due to the damping effect. In addition, the critical conditions for triggering Self-oscillation and the effects of several key dimensionless system parameters on the amplitude and period of Self-oscillation are investigated in detail. Calculation results show that the height of electrolyte solution, gravitational acceleration, elastic modulus of LCE film, limit temperature, curvature coefficient, thermal shrinkage coefficient and damping factor all have a modulating effect on the amplitude and period of Self-oscillation. This research may deepen the understanding of Self-excited oscillation, with promising applications in energy harvesting, power generation, monitoring, soft robotics, medical devices, and micro and nano devices.

Nonintrusive identification and type recognition of household appliances based on the harmonic analysis of the steady-state current

Nonintrusive identification and type recognition of household appliances based on the harmonic analysis of the steady-state current

Simulation of steady state limiting currents at arrays of square electrodes

Steady state limiting currents at arrays of square electrodes embedded flush in an insulating plane have been simulated, assuming diffusional transport. Steady state limiting currents were obtained with an accuracy from <1% for close spacings and about 5%–8% for wide spacings at the larger arrays, for arrays from 2 × 2 up to 18 × 18 electrodes. The steady state currents were smaller than the theoretical values, except for the larger arrays and close spacing.

Quantum battery charging by non-equilibrium steady-state currents

We present an analysis of the availability and maximum extractable work of quantum batteries (QBs) in the presence of charge and/or heat steady-state currents. QBs are modeled as non-interacting open quantum systems (mesoscopic systems) strongly coupled to two thermal and particle reservoirs within the framework of non-equilibrium Green’s function theory in a steady-state regime. We found that the battery can be charged manifestly by a steady-state charge current compared to heat one, especially, in an off-resonant transport regime. It allows us to reliably access the performance of the QBs in the high bias-charging regime.

A Current-Limiting Scheme for Voltage-Controlled Inverter Using Instantaneous Current to Generate Virtual Impedance

In this paper, a current-limiting scheme is proposed for the voltage-controlled inverter. The method utilizes instantaneous current to quickly activate a resistive fault-current-limiting virtual impedance (R <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">FCL</sub> ) to suppress the instantaneous impulse current and steady-state overload current, which can be directly integrated into the existing voltage-type control scheme. When a fault occurs, the inverter can be kept in the voltage control mode without mode switching. After the fault is cleared, it can automatically return to the normal operation mode. The parameter selection method of the current-limiting virtual impedance is analyzed, and the logic criterion for short-circuit fault clearance is presented to realize the automatic startup and exit of the current-limiting virtual impedance. Finally, the RT-LAB hardware in-loop experiment and the single-phase inverter platform experiment prove that the proposed current-limiting scheme can simplify the fault handling process and improve the anti-fault ability of the voltage-controlled inverter.

Deficiency, kinetic invertibility, and catalysis in stochastic chemical reaction networks.

Stochastic chemical processes are described by the chemical master equation satisfying the law of mass-action. We first ask whether the dual master equation, which has the same steady state as the chemical master equation, but with inverted reaction currents, satisfies the law of mass-action and, hence, still describes a chemical process. We prove that the answer depends on the topological property of the underlying chemical reaction network known as deficiency. The answer is yes only for deficiency-zero networks. It is no for all other networks, implying that their steady-state currents cannot be inverted by controlling the kinetic constants of the reactions. Hence, the network deficiency imposes a form of non-invertibility to the chemical dynamics. We then ask whether catalytic chemical networks are deficiency-zero. We prove that the answer is no when they are driven out of equilibrium due to the exchange of some species with the environment.

Full counting statistics and coherences: Fluctuation symmetry in heat transport with the unified quantum master equation.

Recently, a "unified" quantum master equationwas derived and shown to be of the Gorini-Kossakowski-Lindblad-Sudarshan form. This equationdescribes the dynamics of open quantum systems in a manner that forgoes the full secular approximation and retains the impact of coherences between eigenstates close in energy. We implement full counting statistics with the unified quantum master equationto investigate the statistics of energy currents through open quantum systems with nearly degenerate levels. We show that, in general, this equationgives rise to dynamics that satisfy fluctuation symmetry, a sufficient condition for the Second Law of Thermodynamics at the level of average fluxes. For systems with nearly degenerate energy levels, such that coherences build up, the unified equation is simultaneously thermodynamically consistent and more accurate than the fully secular master equation. We exemplify our results for a "V" system facilitating energy transport between two thermal baths at different temperatures. We compare the statistics of steady-state heat currents through this system as predicted by the unified equationto those given by the Redfield equation, which is less approximate but, in general, not thermodynamically consistent. We also compare results to the secular equation, where coherences are entirely abandoned. We find that maintaining coherences between nearly degenerate levels is essential to properly capture the current and its cumulants. On the other hand, the relative fluctuations of the heat current, which embody the thermodynamic uncertainty relation, display inconsequential dependence on quantum coherences.

Point of Common Coupling Voltage Modulated Direct Power Control of Grid-Tied Photovoltaic Inverter for AC Microgrid Application

A direct power control (DPC) approach is proposed in this study for a grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) voltage source inverter (VSI) to regulate active and reactive power flow directly in between utility grid and microgrid (MG) by controlling point of common coupling (PCC) voltage. The proposed PCC voltage modulated (PVM) theory-based DPC method (PVMT-DPC) is composed of nonlinear PVM, nonlinear damping, conventional feedforward, and feedback PI controllers. For grid synchronization rather than employing phase-locked-loop (PLL) technology, in this study, direct power calculation of the PCC voltage and current is adopted. Subsequently, at PCC, the computed real and reactive powers are compared with reference powers in order to generate the VSI’s control signals using sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM). Because of the absence of the PLL and DPC method adoption, the suggested controller has a faster convergence rate compared to traditional VSI’s power controllers. Additionally, it displays nearly zero steady-state power oscillations, which assure that MG’s power quality is improved significantly. To validate the proposed PVMT-DPC method’s performance, real-time simulations are conducted via real-time digital simulator (RTDS) for a variety of cases. The obtained results demonstrate that using the proposed PVMT-DPC approach, PV VSI can track the reference power within 0.055 s where the output power has low steady-state oscillations and output current has lower total harmonic distortion (THD) of 1.68%.

Theoretical analysis of homogeneous catalysis of electrochemical reactions: steady-state current–potential

Theoretical analysis of homogeneous catalysis of electrochemical reactions: steady-state current–potential

Long-Term Self-Discharge Measurements and Modelling for Various Cell Types and Cell Potentials

Self-discharge of lithium-ion cells leads to voltage decay over time. In this work, the self-discharge was measured at 30 ∘C for three cell types at various voltage levels for about 150 days in a constant voltage mode determining the current at a high precision (float current). All cells exhibit a transient part leading to a steady-state, which is no longer influenced by reversible effects. To study the effect of the check-ups on the steady-state float current, the cells, interrupted and not interrupted by check-ups, were compared. The results indicate that both the transient processes and steady-state currents are highly reproducible. In the first period of the float current, the polarization dominates the measured current, followed by the anode overhang effect dominating the process for a period of 5–30 days. After the decline of both processes, a mostly constant steady-state in the order of μA is observed. The check-up interruption generally shows no apparent effect on the reached steady-state and results only in an extended settling time. A model to simulate the transient process and steady-state of float currents was developed. The model shows a high accuracy in reproducing the results and identifying the time needed to reach the steady-state.

Nonequilibrium currents in stochastic field theories: A geometric insight.

We introduce a formalism to study nonequilibrium steady-state probability currents in stochastic field theories. We show that generalizing the exterior derivative to functional spaces allows identification of the subspaces in which the system undergoes local rotations. In turn, this allows prediction of the counterparts in the real, physical space of these abstract probability currents. The results are presented for the case of the Active Model B undergoing motility-induced phase separation, which is known to be out of equilibrium but whose steady-state currents have not yet been observed, as well as for the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation. We locate and measure these currents and show that they manifest in real space as propagating modes localized in regions with nonvanishing gradients of the fields.

Modeling the electrooxidation of CO on the catalyst with heterogeneous sites

The distribution and type of exposed surface sites are essential aspects of kinetics which should be considered together with mass transport in an electrochemical process, since multiple types of functional sites may coexist on electrocatalyst surfaces. In this study, we categorize the surface sites into active sites where the dissociation of water molecule and CO oxidation take place and nonactive sites where CO is adsorbed. By solving the bulk diffusion, adsorption, surface diffusion and reaction using the Fick’s diffusion law, reaction rate law, and Butler-Volmer equation, it is shown that the catalysts surface with a certain ratio of nonactive sites possesses high current rather than only with a type of active sites. More importantly, the high steady-state current can be obtained by balancing the micro-kinetics and mass transport. The findings provide a new strategy of catalyst design and electrochemical operation.

Correlated Mott insulators in a strong electric field: The effects of phonon renormalization

We characterize the response of a Mott insulating system to a static electric field in terms of its conducting and spectral properties. Dissipation is included by a coupling to fermionic baths and to either optical or acoustic phonons. This paper extends and completes the analysis made in a previous work by the authors [Mazzocchi et al., Phys. Rev. B 106, 125123 (2022)]. In the present work, phonons are included diagrammatically within the Migdal approximation by also including self-consistency from the electronic feedback. The nonequilibrium steady state is addressed by means of the dynamical mean-field theory based on the nonequilibrium Green's function approach, while the so-called auxiliary master equation approach is employed as impurity solver. With optical phonons the self-consistency suppresses the steady-state current for field strengths comparable to the band gap with respect to the non-self-consistent case. This is due to the interaction of phonons with the hot electrons of the lattice which increases their temperature, thus providing a less effective relaxation channel for the current-induced Joule heat. In addition, in the case of optical phonons, the results are essentially independent of the temperature of the fermionic baths, as the latter is sensibly smaller than their characteristic frequency. On the other hand, with acoustic phonons the steady-state current is slightly suppressed by the self-consistent treatment only at field strengths close to half of the gap and especially at very small phonon frequency. Also, in this case, the results seem to slightly depend on the temperature of the fermionic baths.

A phase feed-forward method to enhance inverter-grid system stability

The interaction between the inverter and the grid in weak grids may produce resonances that lead to reduced power quality and instability concern. The recently proposed control methods based on eliminating disturbances in the control loop avoid the challenging control parameter design faced by the existing stability-enhancing control methods. They are effective to overcome the instability concern, but may not be able to maintain stable operation of the system in certain situations. Moreover, they affect the steady-state output current of the system under the fluctuation of the grid. This paper proposes a phase feed-forward method in the dq-frame to overcome the problems encountered by these control methods, such as duty cycle perturbation and grid phase jump. The proposed method constructs an integrator and a high pass filter path outside the PLL. It is simple and readily realized in the traditional control structure. Simulation and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control method.

Spin diffusion in spin glasses requires two magnetic variables, M⃗ and m⃗

Experiment has established that spin-glasses can support a steady-state spin current $\vec{j}_{i}$. However, the accepted theory of spin glass dynamics permits oscillations but no steady-state spin current. Onsager's irreversible thermodynamics implies that the spin current is proportional to the gradient of a magnetization. We argue, however, that the magnon distribution function associated with the local equilibrium magnetization $\vec{M}$ cannot diffuse because it represents $10^{23}$ variables. We therefore invoke the non-equilibrium magnetization $\vec{m}$, which in spintronics is called the {\it spin accumulation}. Applying the theory of irreversible thermodynamics we indeed find that it predicts spin diffusion, and we consider other experimental consequences of the theory, including a wavelength-dependent coupling between the reactive and the diffusive degrees of freedom.

Modulation of Steady-State Heat Transport in a Dissipative Multi-Mode Qubit-Photon System

Quantum heat transport is considered as an indispensable branch of quantum thermodynamics to potentially improve performance of thermodynamic devices. We theoretically propose a dissipative qubit-photon system composed of multiple coupled resonators interacting with a single two-level qubit, to explore the steady-state heat transport by tuning both the inter-resonator photon hopping and the qubit-photon coupling. Specifically in the three-mode case, the dramatic enhancement and suppression of the heat current into the central resonator can be modulated by the corresponding frequency, compared to the currents into two edge resonators. Moreover, fruitful cycle current components are unraveled at weak qubit-photon coupling, which are crucial to exhibit the nonmonotonic feature with increase of the reservoir temperature bias. In the one-dimensional case under the mean-field framework, the influence of the photon hopping on heat transport is analyzed. The steady-state heat current is comparatively enhanced to the single-mode limit at weak qubit-photon coupling, stemming from the nonvanishing mean-field photon excitation parameter and the additional cycle current component. We hope these obtained results may have possible applications in quantum thermodynamic manipulation and energy harvesting.

Interplay of Pauli blockade with electron-photon coupling in quantum dots

Both quantum transport measurements in the Pauli blockade regime and microwave cavity transmission measurements are important tools for spin-qubit readout and characterization. Based on a generalized input-output theory we derive a theoretical framework to investigate how a double quantum dot (DQD) in a transport setup interacts with a coupled microwave resonator while the current through the DQD is rectified by Pauli blockade. We show that the output field of the resonator can be used to infer the leakage current and thus obtain insight into the blockade mechanisms. In the case of a silicon DQD, we show how the valley quasidegeneracy can impose limitations on this scheme. We also demonstrate that a large number of unknown DQD parameters including (but not limited to) the valley splitting can be estimated from the resonator response simultaneous to a transport experiment, providing more detailed knowledge about the microscopic environment of the DQD. Furthermore, we describe and quantify a back action of the resonator photons on the steady-state leakage current.

The mechanism of inhibitive effect on hydrogen permeation of X70 steel by lanthanum microalloying: Enhanced kinetics of desorption

In this work, electrochemical hydrogen permeation tests were carried out to obtain the steady-state hydrogen permeation current of X70 pipeline steel in acid environment and alkaline electrolyte with applied cathodic overpotentials simulating the service conditions of pipelines. It is shown that La-microalloying can efficiently reduce the steady-state hydrogen permeation current density while maintaining the same mechanical performance. The experimental permeation data were fitted with Iyer-Pickering-Zamanzadeh (IPZ) and surface effect model to analyze the inhibitive mechanism on hydrogen permeation, and the results depicted that La element on the material surface greatly facilitates the desorption process of hydrogen atoms. In addition, the calculated hydrogen diffusion coefficient was found smaller after La microalloyed, which can be ascribed to the larger hydrogen trap density. It is suggested that La-microalloying can mitigate hydrogen damage of X70 pipeline steel in both acidic environment or under cathodic protection.

Functional characterization of SGLT1 using SSM-based electrophysiology: Kinetics of sugar binding and translocation.

Beside the ongoing efforts to determine structural information, detailed functional studies on transporters are essential to entirely understand the underlying transport mechanisms. We recently found that solid supported membrane-based electrophysiology (SSME) enables the measurement of both sugar binding and transport in the Na+/sugar cotransporter SGLT1 (Bazzone et al, 2022a). Here, we continued with a detailed kinetic characterization of SGLT1 using SSME, determining KM and KD app for different sugars, kobs values for sugar-induced conformational transitions and the effects of Na+, Li+, H+ and Cl- on sugar binding and transport. We found that the sugar-induced pre-steady-state (PSS) charge translocation varies with the bound ion (Na+, Li+, H+ or Cl-), but not with the sugar species, indicating that the conformational state upon sugar binding depends on the ion. Rate constants for the sugar-induced conformational transitions upon binding to the Na+-bound carrier range from 208s-1 for D-glucose to 95s-1 for 3-OMG. In the absence of Na+, rate constants are decreased, but all sugars bind to the empty carrier. From the steady-state transport current, we found a sequence for sugar specificity (Vmax/KM): D-glucose > MDG > D-galactose > 3-OMG > D-xylose. While KM differs 160-fold across tested substrates and plays a major role in substrate specificity, Vmax only varies by a factor of 1.9. Interestingly, D-glucose has the lowest Vmax across all tested substrates, indicating a rate limiting step in the sugar translocation pathway following the fast sugar-induced electrogenic conformational transition. SGLT1 specificity for D-glucose is achieved by optimizing two ratios: the sugar affinity of the empty carrier for D-glucose is similarly low as for all tested sugars (KD,K app = 210mM). Affinity for D-glucose increases 14-fold (KD,Na app = 15mM) in the presence of sodium as a result of cooperativity. Apparent affinity for D-glucose during transport increases 8-fold (KM = 1.9mM) compared to KD,Na app due to optimized kinetics. In contrast, KM and KD app values for 3-OMG and D-xylose are of similar magnitude. Based on our findings we propose an 11-state kinetic model, introducing a random binding order and intermediate states corresponding to the electrogenic transitions detected via SSME upon substrate binding.