Increasing thermoelectric efficiency towards the Carnot limit

Abstract

We study the problem of thermoelectricity and propose a simple microscopic mechanism for the increase of thermoelectric efficiency. We consider the cross transport of particles and energy in open classical ergodic billiards. We show that, in the linear response regime, where we find exact expressions for all transport coefficients, the thermoelectric efficiency of ideal ergodic gases can approach Carnot efficiency for sufficiently complex charge carrier molecules. Our results are clearly demonstrated with a simple numerical simulation of a Lorentz gas of particles with internal rotational degrees of freedom.