Feedback-type thermoelectric effect in correlated solids

Abstract

A new thermoelectric effect mechanism inspired by an autonomous Maxwell's demon [P. Strasberg, G. Schaller, T. Brandes, and M. Esposito, Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 040601 (2013)] is proposed. In contrast to the former work where a model for microscopic systems is proposed, a specific model for the thermoelectric effect in solid is formulated and its response to the electric field and temperature gradient is calculated in the framework of stochastic thermodynamics. The results show that relatively high $ZT$, which represents efficiency of the thermoelectric material, can be achieved within a range of realistic parameters.