[Paper Review] Ultralow radiative heat flux by Anderson localization in quasiperiodic plasmonic chains

Yizhi Hu, Kun Yan+2 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Feb 3, 2026

Thermal Radiation and Cooling Technologies0 citations

TL;DR

The paper theoretically demonstrates three-order-of-magnitude suppression of radiative heat transfer in a quasiperiodic one-dimensional chain of plasmonic InSb nanoparticles due to Anderson localization, and analyzes how this suppression depends on spacing and damping.

ABSTRACT

Anderson localization, arising from wave interference in disordered systems, profoundly hinders energy transport, yet its impact on radiative heat flux in many-body thermophotonic systems remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate a three-order-of-magnitude suppression of radiative heat transfer, resulting in ultralow radiative heat transfer, in a one-dimensional quasiperiodic chain of plasmonic nanoparticles. This suppression in radiative heat transfer is directly correlated with mode localization, as revealed by the mode decomposition of the transmission coefficient, which serves as evidence of Anderson localization. Furthermore, we elucidate the dependence of radiative thermal conductance reduction on interparticle spacing and material damping rates, uncovering the interplay between intrinsic Ohmic losses, mode localization, and long-range many-body interactions. Our findings advance the understanding of wave-mediated thermal transport in disordered photonic structures and suggest strategies for tailoring nanoscale heat management via engineered disorder.

Motivation & Objective

• Investigate how disorder-induced Anderson localization affects radiative heat transfer in a quasiperiodic plasmonic chain.
• Identify how localized modes correlate with transmission and heat flux suppression.
• Explore the dependence of thermal conductance on interparticle spacing and material damping rates.
• Link eigenmode properties to heat-transfer channels to enable disorder-tailored nanoscale thermal management.

Proposed method

• Model a one-dimensional chain of identical plasmonic InSb nanoparticles as dipoles with Aubry-André-Harper type spacing modulation.
• Use a self-consistent coupled dipole framework to obtain eigenfrequencies and eigenvectors of collective dipole modes.
• Compute the spectral transmission coefficient tau_1N from the first to the Nth particle and relate it to radiative heat transfer via h_1N(ω).
• Decompose tau_1N into contributions from eigenmodes using S_l and R_l to connect transmission to mode localization (Eq. 5).
• Study the dependence of localization (via IPR and effective extinction efficiency) and heat flux on modulation strength eta and damping Gamma.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 Does Anderson localization occur in a quasiperiodic chain of plasmonic nanoparticles and how does it manifest in the eigenmode spectrum?
• RQ2 How does localization influence the spectral and total radiative thermal conductance between chain ends?
• RQ3 What roles do interparticle spacing and Ohmic damping play in the suppression of radiative heat transfer due to localization?
• RQ4 Can the transmission be decomposed into eigenmode contributions to reveal the link between localized/edge modes and heat flux?

Key findings

• Increasing quasiperiodic modulation eta induces localization of dipole modes, creating a fractal spectrum with clear localized modes emerging beyond a critical eta_c.
• Transmission spectra show suppression of tau_1N in the localized phase for both polarizations, revealing reduced radiative transfer.
• Spectral thermal conductance h_1N(ω) peaks align with eigenfrequencies in the low-damping limit, with localized bulk and topological edge modes contributing distinct features.
• Total thermal conductance sigma_1N is strongly reduced in the localized phase, and a modulation ratio phi up to three orders of magnitude is observed under low damping.
• Lower damping Gamma enables stronger localization effects and larger modulation of heat transfer, while high damping washes out mode-specific contributions.
• Thouless number g < 1 indicates well-resolved localized modes, correlating with suppressed conductance and resonant tunneling through localized states.