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Levitated nanoparticle thermometry of heat conduction in rarified gases

MetadataDetails
Publication Date2022-09-30
AuthorsDanika R. Luntz-Martin, Dinesh K. Bommidi, Kai Zhang, Andrea D. Pickel, A. Nick Vamivakas
InstitutionsUniversity of Rochester

Optically trapped nanoparticles can be used to explore heat conduction in gases. Heat conduction can be modeled using Fourier’s law when the mean-free path (MFP) of the gas molecules is short compared to the size of the heat source. When the MFP of the gas is larger than the size of the heated nanoparticle a nanoscopic approach which considers the gas’s interactions is needed. We use nanodiamonds with nitrogen-vacancy centers to measure the temperature of a trapped nanoparticle and observe both continuum (Fourier) and sub-continuum regions of heat conduction and the transition between them.