A gauge invariant theory for time dependent heat current

Abstract

In this work, we develop a general gauge-invariant theory for AC heat current through multi-probe systems. Using the non-equilibrium Green's function, a general expression for time-dependent electrothermal admittance is obtained where we include the internal potential due to the Coulomb interaction explicitly. We show that the gauge-invariant condition is satisfied for heat current if the self-consistent Coulomb interaction is considered. It is known that the Onsager relation holds for dynamic charge conductance. We show in this work that the Onsager relation for electrothermal admittance is violated, except for a special case of a quantum dot system with a single energy level. We apply our theory to a nano capacitor where the Coulomb interaction plays an essential role. We find that, to the first order in frequency, the heat current is related to the electrochemical capacitance as well as the phase accumulated in the scattering event.