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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Characterization of Thermal Transport in One-dimensional Solid Materials
Published on: January 26, 2014
Fluctuational electrodynamics in the presence of finite thermal sources
Vassilios Yannopapas1, Nikolay V Vitanov
1Department of Materials Science, University of Patras, GR-26504 Patras, Greece. vyannop@upatras.gr
Abstract:
We present exact calculations of the spatial correlation of the blackbody radiation in the presence of spheres whose dimensions are smaller or comparable to the radiation wavelength. By going beyond the standard scalar coherence theory, we show that the spatial correlation function of a spherical thermal source is not universal but depends on the material properties of the source and exhibits near-field-induced features. Near-field effects are also manifested in the case of a linear chain of dielectric spheres where the correlation function probes the inhomogeneity of the chain. For this latter system we have established the conditions when the near-field effects cancel out and the correlation function takes the typical form of a conventional Lambertian source. For the case of a chain of metallic nanospheres, the increased spatial correlation of the far field leads to a directional thermal emission spectrum.
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