title: Thermal rectification in graded materials.
abstract: In order to identify the basic conditions for thermal rectification we investigate a simple model with nonuniform, graded mass distribution. The existence of thermal rectification is theoretically predicted and numerically confirmed, suggesting that thermal rectification is a typical occurrence in graded systems, which are likely to be natural candidates for the actual fabrication of thermal diodes. In view of practical implications, the dependence of rectification on the asymmetry and system's size is studied.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
authors.forename: Jiao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Casati
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D008956:Models, Chemical; D013696:Temperature; D013814:Thermal Conductivity; D013816:Thermodynamics