Anomalous enhancement of thermal radiation transport by quasidisorder
Phys. Rev. B 113, 245408 – Published 3 June, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ftcg-p85b
Abstract
The transition from order to disorder is conventionally regarded as detrimental to solid-state heat transfer in classical wave and quasiparticle systems. In striking contrast, we show that in near-field thermal radiation, breaking long-range order—shifting from periodic to quasiperiodic configurations—induces a counterintuitive enhancement of energy transport. When the transmission structure transitions from a conventional periodic photonic crystal to a quasiperiodic Fibonacci geometry, the radiative heat flux can increase by more than an order of magnitude. This effect arises from delocalized interactions within quasiperiodic elements, where quasiperiodicity relays and amplifies thermal electromagnetic energy transfer across large spatial separations, surpassing even corresponding near-field scenarios. The extraordinary transport properties induced by quasidisorder in near-field thermal radiation could open possibilities for heat-flow manipulation, offering transformative implications for thermal science and advancing the fundamental understanding of collective excitations in non-ordered systems.