We theoretically design a kind of diffusion bistability (and even multistability) in the macroscopic scale, which has a similar phenomenon but different underlying mechanism from its microscopic counterpart [Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 267203 (2008)]; the latter has been extensively investigated in literature, e.g., for building nanometer-scale memory components. By introducing second- and third-order nonlinear terms (that opposite in sign) into diffusion coefficient matrices, a bistable energy or mass diffusion occurs with two different steady states identified as “0” and “1.” In particular, we study heat conduction in a two-terminal three-body system and show that this bistable system exhibits a macroscale thermal memory effect with tailored nonlinear thermal conductivities. The theoretical analysis is confirmed by finite-element simulations. Also, we suggest experiments with metamaterials based on shape memory alloys. This theoretical framework blazes a trail on constructing intrinsic bistability or multistability in diffusive systems for macroscopic energy or mass management.

中文翻译：

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设计宏观扩散系统中的双稳态或多重稳定性

我们从理论上设计了一种宏观上的扩散双稳态（甚至多重稳定性），这种现象具有相似的现象，但与微观对应的机制不同。莱特牧师 101，267203（2008）]；后者已经在文献中进行了广泛研究，例如，用于构建纳米级存储组件。通过将二阶和三阶非线性项（符号相反）引入扩散系数矩阵，会发生双稳态能量或质量扩散，其中两个不同的稳态被标识为“ 0”和“ 1”。特别是，我们研究了两末端三体系统中的热传导，并表明该双稳态系统具有定制的非线性热传导率，具有宏观的热记忆效应。理论分析通过有限元模拟得到证实。另外，我们建议使用基于形状记忆合金的超材料进行实验。