Fluctuating-surface-current formulation of radiative heat transfer for arbitrary geometries

Abstract

We describe a fluctuating-surface-current formulation of radiative heat transfer, applicable to arbitrary geometries in both the near and far field, that directly exploits efficient and sophisticated techniques from the boundary-element method. We validate as well as extend previous results for spheres and cylinders, and also compute the heat transfer in a more complicated geometry consisting of two interlocked rings. Finally, we demonstrate how this method can be adapted to compute the spatial distribution of heat flux on the surfaces of the bodies.