Condensed Matter Theory   Universität Basel
Dr. Jörg Lehmann

Vibrational effects in laser driven molecular wires

J. Lehmann, S. Kohler, V. May, and P. Hänggi

J. Chem. Phys. 121, 2278 (2004)

Preprint: arXiv:cond-mat/0403614


The influence of an electron-vibrational coupling on the laser control of electron transport through a molecular wire that is attached to several electronic leads is investigated. These molecular vibrational modes induce an effective electron-electron interaction. In the regime where the wire electrons couple weakly to both the external leads and the vibrational modes, we derive within a Hartree-Fock approximation a nonlinear set of quantum kinetic equations. The quantum kinetic theory is then used to evaluate the laser driven, time-averaged electron current through the wire-leads contacts. This novel formalism is applied to two archetypical situations in the presence of electron-vibrational effects, namely, (i) the generation of a ratchet or pump current in a symmetrical molecule by a harmonic mixing field and (ii) the laser switching of the current through the molecule.


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