2017/05/31 by Sigurdur Ingi Erlingsson, Sigurður I. Erlingsson, Andrei Manolescu +5
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices #Biasing #Condensed matter physics #Current (fluid) #Electron #Magnetic field #Materials science #Nanotechnology #Nanowire #Physics #Quantum and electron transport phenomena #Quantum mechanics #Sign (mathematics) #Thermoelectric effect #Topological Materials and Phenomena #Topological insulator #Voltage #cond-mat.mes-hall
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.119.036804
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 036804 (2017) · Main text and Supplemental Material (8 pages, 7 figures)
openalex publication_date 2017/07/21 · arxiv created 2017/07/22 · arxiv updated 2017/07/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We calculate the charge current generated by a temperature bias between the two ends of a tubular nanowire. We show that in the presence of a transversal magnetic field the current can change sign; i.e., electrons can either flow from the hot to the cold reservoir, or in the opposite direction, when the temperature bias increases. This behavior occurs when the magnetic field is sufficiently strong, such that Landau and snaking states are created, and the energy dispersion is nonmonotonic with respect to the longitudinal wave vector. The sign reversal can survive in the presence of impurities. We predict this result for core-shell nanowires, for uniform nanowires with surface states due to the Fermi level pinning, and for topological insulator nanowires.