Robust topological temperature localization in thermal rock-paper-scissors chain

Abstract Emerging topological thermal physics has revolutionized thermal management with topological thermal metamaterials, but most of them only consider the passive/static thermal diffusion. Inspired by ecological dynamics, we investigate the topological thermal physics in an active/dynamic three-body heat transfer system connected with Peltier modules, where the cyclic interaction is exemplified by the rock-paper-scissors (RPS) chain. Numerical simulations demonstrate a robust temperature localization phenomenon against parametric disturbance and structural perturbations, and topological phase transition in thermal RPS chain is discussed via topological band theory analysis of the corresponding Hamiltonian. Our findings establish a framework for exploring dynamic topological phenomena in non-equilibrium thermal transport, offering new pathways for active thermal management.