Robust topological temperature localization in thermal rock–paper–scissors chain
Abstract
Emerging topological thermal physics has revolutionized thermal management with topological thermal metamaterials, but most of them only consider passive/static thermal diffusion. Inspired by ecological dynamics, we investigate the topological thermal physics in an active/dynamic three-body heat-transfer system connected with Peltier modules, in which the cyclic interaction is exemplified by the rock-paper-scissors (RPS) chain. Numerical simulations demonstrate a robust temperature localization phenomenon against parametric disturbance and structural perturbations, and topological phase transition in a thermal RPS chain is discussed via a topological band-theory analysis of the corresponding Hamiltonian. Our findings establish a framework for exploring dynamic topological phenomena in non-equilibrium thermal transport, offering new pathways for active thermal management.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Topological Materials and Phenomena
Thermal properties of materials
Quantum many-body systems
Publication details
- Journal / source
- National Science Review
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- nwag169–nwag169
- Publication date
- 19 March 2026
- Language
- EN