Negative thermal conductivity of chains of rotors with mechanical forcing

Abstract

We consider chains of rotors subjected to both thermal and mechanical forcings in a nonequilibrium steady state. Unusual nonlinear profiles of temperature and velocities are observed in the system. In particular, the temperature is maximal in the center, which is an indication of the nonlocal behavior of the system. Despite this uncommon behavior, local equilibrium holds for long enough chains. Our numerical results also show that when the mechanical forcing is strong enough, the energy current can be increased by an inverse temperature gradient. This counterintuitive result again reveals the complexity of nonequilibrium states.