Structural influences on thermal rectification of one-dimensional mass-graded lattices

In this work, we perform a systematic analysis of various structural parameters that have an influence on the thermal rectification effect and the negative differential thermal resistance present in a one-dimensional anharmonic lattice with a mass gradient. After determining the optimal number of thermostated oscillators to enhance the rectification effect we determined that, for a random perturbation to the mass profile, rectification is enhanced, whereas negative differential thermal resistance is diminished. When a cubic term is included in the interaction potential thermal rectification is reduced, an effect more evident for large mass gradients. All results are obtained for larger system sizes than those so far considered for the present problem, thus revealing a complex interplay between the magnitude of the mass gradient and system size that is far from trivial and remains to be fully understood.