Thermoelectric Transport in Three-Terminal Junctions

Heat and charge currents through a junction bridging two electronic baths (of possibly different temperatures and different chemical potentials), and coupled to a third thermal terminal are considered. The role of inelastic processes between the charge carriers and the thermal terminal is emphasized. The main idea is to try and force electrons transported through the junction (e.g., a molecular bridge) to take relatively large energy from the thermal bath and deliver it to another bath or to an electronic reservoir, as a heat or a charge current, attempting to achieve a significant figure of merit for the process