Hidden negative differential thermal conductance

Negative differential thermal conductance (NDTC), a hallmark of nonlinear quantum thermal transport, plays a critical role in the design of quantum thermal devices, such as thermal diodes and transistors. The Lindblad dynamics predicts that the heat current through two coupled atoms increases with the increasing temperature difference of two bosonic reservoirs. However, in this paper, we uncover the suppressive effect on the heat current in this nonequilibrium system using the Bloch-Redfield master equations, which indicate the emergence of NDTC. Our findings underscore the crucial role of beyond-Lindblad dynamics in accurately capturing nonlinear features in quantum thermodynamic systems.