Controlling heat ratchet and flow reversal with simple networksShuan Wang ,1 Chunhua Zeng,1,* Guimei Zhu,2,† Hua Wang,3,‡ and Baowen Li4

1Faculty of Science, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China2School of Microelectronics, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China3State Key Laboratory of Complex Nonferrous Metal Resources Clean Utilization,Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650093, China4Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Department of Physics,Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China(Received 17 April 2023; accepted 11 September 2023; published 4 October 2023)

We investigate ratcheting heat flow in simple networks consisting of a one-dimensional nonlinear chain with aself-coupled loop when the average thermal bias is zero. The effects of coupling strength and temporally averagedenvironmental reference temperature on the ratcheting heat flow are discussed. It is found that the total heat flow(THF) will be reversed, while heat flow in the self-coupled loop will disappear with the increase of the couplingstrength. A critical coupling strength exists at which the THF disappears, and heat flow exists in the self-coupledloop, i.e., eddy ratcheting heat flow displays. The underlining physical mechanisms are analyzed through phononspectra and unsteady thermal wave dynamics. Furthermore, a reversal of the THF from a negative to a positivevalue can be controlled by increasing the reference temperature. A critical reference temperature exists at whichthe negative THF exhibits a maximum value. Phonons dominate the ratcheting heat flow in the self-coupled loop,while solitons dominate the THF for weak coupling strength. These results can possibly be realized in nanoscaleexperiments and will help to further understand the thermal information on coupled nanotubes, polymer chains,and biological networks.DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevResearch.5.043009