Bound on Thermoelectric Power in a Magnetic Field within Linear Response

Kay Brandner, Udo Seifert

Published 2015-01-06Version 1

For thermoelectric power generation in a multi-terminal geometry, strong numerical evidence for a universal bound as a function of the magnetic-field induced asymmetry of the non-diagonal Onsager coefficients is presented. This bound implies, inter alia, that the power vanishes at least linearly when the maximal efficiency is approached. In particular, this result rules out that Carnot efficiency can be reached at finite power, which an analysis based on the second law only, would, in principle, allow.