We demonstrate that a thermal transistor can be made up with a quantum system of three interacting subsystems, coupled to a thermal reservoir each. This thermal transistor is analogous to an electronic bipolar one with the ability to control the thermal currents at the collector and at the emitter with the imposed thermal current at the base. This is achieved by determining the heat fluxes by means of the strong-coupling formalism. For the case of three interacting spins, in which one of them is coupled to the other two, that are not directly coupled, it is shown that high amplification can be obtained in a wide range of energy parameters and temperatures. The proposed quantum transistor could, in principle, be used to develop devices such as a thermal modulator and a thermal amplifier in nanosystems.

• Received 10 February 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.200601