Tuning heat transport in trapped-ion chains across a structural phase transition

We analyze the heat transport in an ion chain that is confined in a strongly anisotropic Paul trap. To drive a heat current across the chain different pairs of counterpropagating laser beams are applied to the ions on the edges. The lasers behave as heat reservoirs operating at different temperatures, and a nonequilibrium heat flow can be sustained. The control of the spatial distribution of the ions in the chain by variation of the trapping frequencies makes ion chains an ideal testbed to study heat transport properties in finite open systems of low dimensionality with tunable nonlinearities. We explore heat transport across a structural phase transition between the linear and zigzag configurations, identifying the condition for optimal heat transport.