LMP Seminar: Theory of photonic heat transport in dissipative media

It has been long established that photonic heat transport, i.e., energy transport via electromagnetic waves plays a dominant role in various nanoscale setups, if parts or surfaces are separated by vacuum gaps. Also theoretical frameworks are well developed for that case, as, e.g., the Poynting vector is well understood in vacuum. Recent experiments however suggest that electromagnetic waves can also dominate heat transport within media, and thereby in certain situations outperform other mechanisms such as phonons. We derive a theory for heat transport via electromagnetic waves in media, and show that it can be important for dilute media, or in the presence of interfaces, where surface waves give rise to super-ballistic transport over distances up to several centimeters.

M. Krüger, K. Asheichyk, M. Kardar, and R. Golestanian, Scale-Dependent Heat Transport in Dissipative Media via Electromagnetic Fluctuations
Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 106903 (2024)