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Violating Kirchhoff’s Law of Thermal Radiation in Semitransparent Structures
Kirchhoff’s law of thermal radiation imposes a constraint on photon-based energy harvesting processes since part of the incident energy flux is inevitably emitted back to the source. By breaking the reciprocity of the system, it is possible to overcome this restriction and improve the efficiency of energy harvesting. Here, we design and analyze a semitransparent emitter that fully absorbs normally incident energy from a given direction with zero backward and unity forward emissivity. The nearly ideal performance with wavelength-scale thickness is achieved due to the magneto-optical effect and the guided-mode resonance engineered in the emitter structure. We derive the general requirements for the nonreciprocal emitter using the temporal coupled mode theory and the symmetry considerations. As a result, we provide a realistic emitter design based on a photonic crystal slab consisting of a magnetic Weyl semimetal and silicon.
New Absolute Cavity Pyrgeometer equation by application of Kirchhoff's law and adding a convection term
An equation for the Absolute Cavity Pyrgeometer (ACP) is derived from application of Kirchhoff's law and the addition of a convection term to account for the thermopile being open to the environment, unlike a domed radiometer. The equation is then used to investigate four methods to characterise key instrumental parameters using laboratory and field measurements. The first uses solar irradiance to estimate the thermopile responsivity, the second uses a minimisation method that solves for the thermopile responsivity and transmission of the cavity, and the third and fourth revisit the Reda et al. (2012) linear least squares calibration technique. Data were collected between January and November 2020, when the ACP96 and two IRIS radiometers monitoring terrestrial irradiances were available. The results indicate good agreement with IRIS irradiances using the new equation. The analysis also indicates that while the thermopile responsivity, concentrator transmission and emissivity of an ACP can be determined independently, as an open instrument, the impact of the convection term is minor in steady-state conditions but significant when the base of the instrument is being subjected to rapid artificial cooling or heating. Using laboratory characterisation of the transmission and emissivity, together with use of an estimated solar calibration of the thermopile, generated mean differences of less than 1.5 Wm -2 to the two IRIS radiometers. A minimisation method using each IRIS radiometer as the reference also provided similar results, and the derived thermopile responsivity was within 0.3 µV W -1 m 2 of the solar-calibration-derived infrared responsivity estimate of 10.5 µV W -1 m 2 estimated using a nominal solar calibration and provide irradiances within ±2 % of the terrestrial irradiance measured by the reference pyrgeometers traceable to the International System of Units (SI). The calibration method using linear least squares regression introduced by Reda et al. (2012) that relies on rapid cooling of the ACP base but utilising the new equation was found to produce consistent results but was dependent on the assumed temperature of the air above the thermopile. This study demonstrates the potential of the ACP as another independent reference radiometer for terrestrial irradiance once the magnitude of the convection coefficient and any potential variations in it have been resolved.
Nonreciprocal Thermal Emitters Using Metasurfaces with Multiple Diffraction Channels
The emissivity and absorptivity of nonreciprocal thermal emitters are not constrained by the well-known Kirchhoff law of thermal radiation, which usually serves as the theoretical basis to characterize thermal properties. When thermal emitters are nondiffracting, which is the case in previous studies of nonreciprocal thermal emitters, the angular distribution of emissivity and absorptivity is mirror symmetric with respect to the normal direction, and the nonreciprocal effect is confined to a relatively narrow angular range. In this work, we consider nonreciprocal thermal emitters that can simultaneously couple to multiple diffraction channels. We show that the symmetry relation between absorptivity and emissivity can be broken in such multichannel emitters. The angular range in which the nonreciprocal effect is strong can also be significantly broadened. Such multichannel emitters can operate as one-way energy splitters. Our work significantly broadens the flexibility of thermal-radiation control in nonreciprocal thermal-emitter design.
Current divisions and distributed Joule heating of two-dimensional grid microstructures
This work presents current divisions and distributed Joule heating of two-dimensional (2D) grid microstructures. The current divisions on 2×2, 4×4, and n×n grid microstructures made of the same conductive beams are analyzed theoretically, and Kirchhoff's voltage law (KVL) and Kirchhoff's current law (KCL) are employed to determine the current division factors and directions under different voltage input cases. The equivalent resistances and Joule heating power are therefore derived. 2D 2×2 grid microstructures made of gold (60 nm in thickness) and those made of near-equiatomic NiTi (850 nm in thickness) for various independent voltage input cases are fabricated by electron-beam evaporation and co-sputtering, respectively. The equivalent resistances of these grid microstructures are measured by four-terminal resistance measurement at ambient conditions, which show a good agreement with the theoretical results. Further investigation on the electrical resistivities of evaporated gold layer (4.85 × 10 -8 Ω ∙ m) and co-sputtered NiTi (1.23 × 10 -5 Ω ∙ m) reveals that the influences of scale effect and fabrication process on the resistivity cannot be neglected. As such, it is found to be necessary to consider the materials' resistivity in the fabricated grid microstructures before their electro-thermal analysis.
Cycle equivalence classes, orthogonal Weingarten calculus, and the mean field theory of memristive systems
Abstract It has been recently noted that for a class of dynamical systems with explicit conservation laws represented via projector operators, the dynamics can be understood in terms of lower dimensional equations. This is the case, for instance, of memristive circuits. Memristive systems are important classes of devices with wide-ranging applications in electronic circuits, artificial neural networks, and memory storage. We show that such mean-field theories can emerge from averages over the group of orthogonal matrices, interpreted as cycle-preserving transformations applied to the projector operator describing Kirchhoff’s laws. Our results provide insights into the fundamental principles underlying the behavior of resistive and memristive circuits and highlight the importance of conservation laws for their mean-field theories. In addition, we argue that our results shed light on the nature of the critical avalanches observed in quasi-two-dimensional nanowires as boundary phenomena.
Broadband nonreciprocal thermal emissivity and absorptivity
A body that violates Kirchhoff’s law of thermal radiation exhibits an inequality in its spectral directional absorptivity and emissivity. Achieving such an inequality is of fundamental interest as well as a prerequisite for achieving thermodynamic limits in photonic energy conversion and radiative cooling. Thus far, inequalities in the spectral directional emissivity and absorptivity have been limited to narrow spectral resonances, or wavelengths well beyond the infrared regime4. Bridging the gap from basic demonstrations to practical applications requires control over a broad spectral range of the unequal spectral directional absorptivity and emissivity. In this work, we demonstrate broadband nonreciprocal thermal emissivity and absorptivity by measuring the thermal emissivity and absorptivity of gradient epsilon-near-zero InAs layers of subwavelength thicknesses (50 nm and 150 nm) with an external magnetic field. The effect occurs in a spectral range (12.5–16 μm) that overlaps with the infrared transparency window and is observed at moderate (1 T) magnetic fields.
ITL (InterfaceLimits.jl) [SWR-23-56]
Network flow of electrical power is governed by Kirchhoff's laws which make calculating the power transfer capacity across interfaces connecting groups of nodes complex. This package leverages the capabilities of Sienna\Data to build and solve interface limit calculation problems.
Lattice Mie resonances and emissivity enhancement in mid-infrared iron pyrite metasurfaces
High-refractive-index antennas with characteristic dimensions comparable to wavelength have a remarkable ability to support pronounces electric and magnetic dipole resonances. Furthermore, periodic arrangements of such resonant antennas result in narrow and strong lattice resonances facilitated by the lattice. We design iron pyrite antennas operating in the mid-infrared spectral range due to the material’s low-energy bandgap and high refractive index. We utilize Kirchhoff’s law, stating that emissivity and absorptance are equal to each other in equilibrium, and we apply it to improve the thermal properties of the iron pyrite metasurface. Through the excitation of collective resonances and manipulation of the antenna lattice’s period, we demonstrate our capacity to control emissivity peaks. These peaks stem from the resonant excitation of electric and magnetic dipoles within proximity to the Rayleigh anomalies. In the lattice of truncated-cone antennas, we observe Rabi splitting of electric and magnetic dipole lattice resonances originating from the antennas’ broken symmetry. We demonstrate that the truncated-cone antenna lattices support strong out-of-plane magnetic dipole lattice resonances at oblique incidence. We show that the truncated-cone antennas, as opposed to disks or cones, facilitate a particularly strong resonance and bound state in the continuum at the normal incidence. Our work demonstrates the effective manipulation of emissivity peaks in iron pyrite metasurfaces through controlled lattice resonances and antenna design, offering promising avenues for mid-infrared spectral engineering.
Time managed virtualization for simulating systems of systems
Software is an integral part of almost every non-trivial system. Yet simulation technologies to understand how software affects system performance lag behind what is available to understand physical behavior. This is not surprising. An abstract model of software tells us what it is supposed to do, not what it actually does. In this respect software is very different from a physical system. Kirchhoff’s laws predict the behavior of an electrical circuit with great precision. The mathematics of fluids do an adequate job of anticipating how a wing will perform in flight. Only the software itself, observed in operation, can tell us how it behaves.
A General Method for Estimating Zonal Transmission Interface Limits from Nodal Network Data: Preprint
Capacity expansion models for the electric power system often employ zonal (rather than nodal) resolution, necessitating estimates of aggregate power transfer limits across the interfaces between model zones. Interface limits between planning areas are sometimes published, but they are not generalizable to arbitrary zone shapes. There is thus a need for a reproducible method for estimating interface transfer limits (ITLs) between user-defined zones directly from nodal transmission system data. Here, we present a simple method for estimating ITLs using a DC power flow approximation via the power transfer distribution factor (PTDF) matrix. Linear optimization is performed to identify the distribution of power flows that maximizes the total flow on interface-crossing lines, subject to individual line ratings, limits on bus injection/withdrawal, and the relationships among flows, injections, and withdrawals imposed by the PTDF matrix. We demonstrate the application of the method on a 134-zone ~65000-bus system, and we explore the influence of flow direction, contingency level, and zone size on the estimated ITLs. There is significant heterogeneity in the ratio of the ITL to the sum of interface-crossing line ratings, which highlights the importance of accounting for the physical constraints on power flows imposed by Kirchhoff's laws when estimating zonal ITLs.
Microbial community diversity changes during voltage reversal repair in a 12-unit microbial fuel cell
Microbial fuel cell stacks (MFC-Stack) are often confronted with voltage reversals, likely due to an interplay between microbial community dynamics and insufficient electric circuit balancing. Herein, we provide new insight into voltage reversals by examining the microbiomes of twelve MFC units of a 12-liter Pilot-MFC-Stack during repair. Different biofilm repair methods (self-healing, electrostimulation, and re-acclimatization upon cross-inoculation) were used to evaluate the microbial community response. In addition, MFC-Stack simulation was performed based on Kirchhoff’s Second Law to predict values for source potentials and post-evaluate internal resistances. Analysis of the 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing data suggests that the biofilm repair methods could slowly heal damaged biofilms. Notably, severely voltage reversed MFC units had low electrogen relative abundances (18%) and positive anode potentials, while strong bioanodes and contained more than 50% electrogens and had negative anode potentials. Between-community analyses (beta diversity ordination and multinomial regression) of the voltage reversed MFC units revealed differences among biofilms in contrast to healthy/strong MFC units. Permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) confirmed that reversed biofilms were, indeed, significantly (p < 0.05) different from stronger ones. Overall, these analyses demonstrated the utility of combining electrotechnical and microbial community analyses, especially beta diversity ordination and multinomial regression, to understand problematic MFC units and the potential success of a biofilm repair method. Finally, thicker biofilms were usually healthier and stronger, although thickness was no guarantee for proper structure and power function as all factors were interdependent. There was an evolutionary trend that strong anodes became stronger/healthier and others weaker. This spontaneous trend has to be considered to avoid irreversible voltage reversals and to repair electrogenic biofilms in an MFC-Stack.