Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2026

Cooling an Optically Trapped Ultracold Fermi Gas by Periodical Driving
Published on: March 30, 2017
Current-assisted cooling in atomic wires
Eunan J McEniry1, Tchavdar N Todorov, Daniel Dundas
1Atomistic Simulation Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK.
Abstract:
The effects of inelastic interactions between current-carrying electrons and vibrational modes of a nanoscale junction are a major limiting factor on the stability of such devices. A method for dynamical simulation of inelastic electron-ion interactions in nanoscale conductors is applied to a model system consisting of an adatom bonded to an atomic wire. It is found that the vibrational energy of such a system may decrease under bias, and furthermore that, as the bias is increased, the rate of cooling, within certain limits, will increase. This phenomenon can be understood qualitatively through low-order perturbation theory, and is due to the presence of an anti-resonance in the transmission function of the system at the Fermi level. Such current-assisted cooling may act as a stabilization mechanism, and may form the basis for a nanoscale cooling 'fan'.
Related Concept Videos
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes
Theory of Metallic Conduction
In this theory, Newton's second law of motion is used to determine the acceleration of an electron in the presence of an applied electric field. Then, its velocity is expressed via this acceleration.
An electron moves through the crystal, containing positive ions,...
Atomic Spectroscopy: Effects of Temperature
At thermal equilibrium, the relative populations of excited and ground state atoms can be estimated using the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution. For example, an increase in temperature from...
Diamagnetic Shielding of Nuclei: Local Diamagnetic Current
Magnetic Force On Current-Carrying Wires: Example
Magnetic Field Due To A Thin Straight Wire

