Revealing electron-lattice decoupling by Peltier thermometry and nanoscale thermal imaging in graphene

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Srivastav, Saurabh Kumar, Völkl, Tobias, Quaresima, Gary, Myasoedov, Yuri, Huber, Martin E., Watanabe, Kenji, Taniguchi, Takashi, Levitov, L. S., Pesin, D. A., Zeldov, Eli
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author Srivastav, Saurabh Kumar
Völkl, Tobias
Quaresima, Gary
Myasoedov, Yuri
Huber, Martin E.
Watanabe, Kenji
Taniguchi, Takashi
Levitov, L. S.
Pesin, D. A.
Zeldov, Eli
author_facet Srivastav, Saurabh Kumar
Völkl, Tobias
Quaresima, Gary
Myasoedov, Yuri
Huber, Martin E.
Watanabe, Kenji
Taniguchi, Takashi
Levitov, L. S.
Pesin, D. A.
Zeldov, Eli
contents Electrical currents in low-dimensional quantum materials can drive electrons far from equilibrium, creating stark imbalance between electron and lattice temperatures. Yet, no existing methods enable simultaneous nanoscale mapping of both temperatures at cryogenic conditions. Here, we introduce a scanning probe technique that images the local lattice temperature and extracts electron temperature at gate-defined p-n junctions in graphene. By applying an alternating electrical current and analyzing first- and second-harmonic responses, we disentangle Joule heating from the Peltier effect-the latter encoding the local electron temperature. This enables the first spatially resolved cryogenic imaging of both phenomena in graphene. Even under modest current bias, the electron temperature increases by nearly three orders of magnitude more than the lattice temperature, revealing strong electron-phonon decoupling and indicating a previously unrecognized electron cooling pathway. Our minimally invasive method is broadly applicable to van der Waals heterostructures and opens new avenues for probing energy dissipation and non-equilibrium transport in correlated and hydrodynamic electron systems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_21523
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Revealing electron-lattice decoupling by Peltier thermometry and nanoscale thermal imaging in graphene
Srivastav, Saurabh Kumar
Völkl, Tobias
Quaresima, Gary
Myasoedov, Yuri
Huber, Martin E.
Watanabe, Kenji
Taniguchi, Takashi
Levitov, L. S.
Pesin, D. A.
Zeldov, Eli
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Electrical currents in low-dimensional quantum materials can drive electrons far from equilibrium, creating stark imbalance between electron and lattice temperatures. Yet, no existing methods enable simultaneous nanoscale mapping of both temperatures at cryogenic conditions. Here, we introduce a scanning probe technique that images the local lattice temperature and extracts electron temperature at gate-defined p-n junctions in graphene. By applying an alternating electrical current and analyzing first- and second-harmonic responses, we disentangle Joule heating from the Peltier effect-the latter encoding the local electron temperature. This enables the first spatially resolved cryogenic imaging of both phenomena in graphene. Even under modest current bias, the electron temperature increases by nearly three orders of magnitude more than the lattice temperature, revealing strong electron-phonon decoupling and indicating a previously unrecognized electron cooling pathway. Our minimally invasive method is broadly applicable to van der Waals heterostructures and opens new avenues for probing energy dissipation and non-equilibrium transport in correlated and hydrodynamic electron systems.
title Revealing electron-lattice decoupling by Peltier thermometry and nanoscale thermal imaging in graphene
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.21523