  Charge and heat transfer through a nanoscale conductor is not only determined
by the transmission properties of the electrons, but can also be strongly
impacted by coupling to other degrees of freedom in the environment of the
conductor. Here, we analyze the influence of the electromagnetic environment on
a simple, yet significant thermoelectric property, the thermopower, in the
simple transport scenario of single-charge transfer across a tunnel junction.
Considering both thermal and out-of-equilibrium steady-state environments, we
find that the thermopower can be strongly affected by the environmental state
and can, in turn, act as a sensitive probe of environmental properties.

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics