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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

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Published on: December 5, 2025
Absence of thermal rectification in asymmetric harmonic chains with self-consistent reservoirs
1Chemical Physics Group, Department of Chemistry and Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Control, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3H6, Canada.
Abstract:
An exact analysis using the Langevin equation approach proves that an asymmetric-inhomogeneous harmonic chain with self-consistent inner reservoirs does not rectify heat, while it may show diffusive heat transport properties. Thus, we argue that the onset of a formal Fourier's law in an asymmetric system does not guarantee an asymmetric heat flow.
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