Heat Transfer in Metallic Nanometre-Sized Gaps

Heat Transfer in Metallic Nanometre-Sized Gaps | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Heat Transfer in Metallic Nanometre-Sized Gaps Nicolas Agrait, Juan Carlos Cuevas, Jose Vilhena, Rubén López-Nebreda, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4616848/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Heat transfer in nanoscale gaps is of key relevance for a variety of technologies. Recent experiments have reported contradictory results shedding doubts about the fundamental mechanisms for heat exchange when bodies are separated by nanometre-sized gaps. Here, we aim at resolving this controversy by measuring the thermal conductance of gold atomic-sized contacts with a custom-designed scanning tunnelling microscope that incorporates a novel thermal probe. This technique enables the measurement of the thermal and electrical conductance in different transport regimes. When the electrodes are separated by a nanometre-sized gap, we observe thermal signals whose magnitude and gap size dependence cannot be explained with standard heat transfer mechanisms. With the help of non-equilibrium molecular dynamic simulations, we elucidate that these anomalous signals are due to the thermal conduction through water menisci that form between tip and sample under customary operation conditions. Our work resolves this fundamental puzzle and suggests avenues for the investigation of heat conduction in atomic and molecular junctions. Physical sciences/Materials science/Nanoscale materials/Nanowires Physical sciences/Nanoscience and technology/Techniques and instrumentation/Characterization and analytical techniques Physical sciences/Physics/Condensed-matter physics/Molecular electronics Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files AgraitHeatTransferinMetellicNanometresizedgapsSI.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4616848","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":319726644,"identity":"de337b3d-87f9-4db8-9240-66aea7e1a5c1","order_by":0,"name":"Nicolas 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