Electron Correlation Functions Research Articles

Resolving the Photophysics of Nitrogen-Embedded Multiple Resonance Emitters: Origin of Color Purity and Emitting Efficiency.

The emerging nitrogen-embedded multiple resonance (MR) emitters with an indolo[3,2,1-jk] carbazole (ICz) unit have exhibited promising performance for high-resolution organic light-emitting diode (OLED) devices, while the underlying photophysics has been rarely reported. In this work, the optical spectra, color purity, and emitting efficiency of ICz-based MR emitters were investigated by using electronic structure and thermal vibration correlation function (TVCF) calculations. Unlike B-N MR emitters, the high color purity of investigated ICz-based MR emitters was mainly contributed by considerable structural rigidity, which also greatly affects the radiative decay rate and fluorescence quantum yield of the S1 state. For the majority of investigated emitters, potential reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) channels (T1 → S1 and T2 → S1) are limited by thermally inaccessible ΔEST* or insufficient spin-orbital coupling (SOC), which can be distinguished by the calculated temperature-dependent RISC rate pattern. We provided a systematic photophysical picture for ICz-based MR emitters that might be interesting for the OLED design and application community.

Non-adiabatic ring polymer molecular dynamics in the phase space of the SU(N) Lie group.

We derive the non-adiabatic ring polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD) approach in the phase space of the SU(N) Lie Group. This method, which we refer to as the spin mapping non-adiabatic RPMD (SM-NRPMD), is based on the spin-mapping formalism for the electronic degrees of freedom (DOFs) and ring polymer path-integral description for the nuclear DOFs. Using the Stratonovich-Weyl transform for the electronic DOFs and the Wigner transform for the nuclear DOFs, we derived an exact expression of the Kubo-transformed time-correlation function (TCF). We further derive the spin mapping non-adiabatic Matsubara dynamics using the Matsubara approximation that removes the high frequency nuclear normal modes in the TCF and derive the SM-NRPMD approach from the non-adiabatic Matsubara dynamics by discarding the imaginary part of the Liouvillian. The SM-NRPMD method has numerical advantages compared to the original NRPMD method based on the Meyer-Miller-Stock-Thoss (MMST) mapping formalism due to a more natural mapping using the SU(N) Lie Group that preserves the symmetry of the original system. We numerically compute the Kubo-transformed position auto-correlation function and electronic population correlation function for three-state model systems. The numerical results demonstrate the accuracy of the SM-NRPMD method, which outperforms the original MMST-based NRPMD. We envision that the SM-NRPMD method will be a powerful approach to simulate electronic non-adiabatic dynamics and nuclear quantum effects accurately.

Nonlinear Fermi liquid transport through a quantum dot in asymmetric tunnel junctions

We study the nonlinear conductance through a quantum dot, specifically its dependence on the asymmetries in the tunnel couplings and bias voltages $V$, at low energies. Extending the microscopic Fermi liquid theory for the Anderson impurity model, we obtain an exact formula for the steady current $I$ up to terms of order ${V}^{3}$ in the presence of these asymmetries. The coefficients for the nonlinear terms are described in terms of a set of the Fermi liquid parameters: the phase shift, static susceptibilities, and three-body correlation functions of electrons in the quantum dots, defined with respect to the equilibrium ground state. We calculate these correlation functions, using the numerical renormalization group approach (NRG), over a wide range of impurity-electron filling that can be controlled by a gate voltage in real systems. The NRG results show that the order ${V}^{2}$ nonlinear current is enhanced significantly in the valence fluctuation regime. It is caused by the order $V$ energy shift of the impurity level, induced in the presence of the tunneling or bias asymmetry. Furthermore, in the valence fluctuation regime, we also find that the order ${V}^{3}$ nonlinear current exhibits a shoulder structure, for which the three-body correlations that evolve for large asymmetries play an essential role.

Dynamical screening in the description of plasma transport properties with arbitrary degeneracy

AbstractFor the first time, the contribution of electron–electron scattering to the electrical conductivity of plasma is calculated with simultaneous consideration of degeneracy and dynamic screening. A procedure for calculating electron–electron correlation functions used in the linear response theory in the formulation of Zubarev is developed. The Chebyshev polynomial expansion of the Fermi–Dirac distribution function is applied. Calculations were carried out in the random‐phase approximation for the dielectric function.

Electronic dephasing in mixed quantum–classical molecular systems using the spin-boson model

Pure electronic dephasing is investigated using the spin-boson Hamiltonian in mixed quantum–classical environment. The spin-boson model used here is a composite system made up of a quantum subsystem, an electronic 2-level subsystem linearly coupled to harmonic vibrations, interacting with a classical bath. Experimental results for a multitude of molecular systems indicate that the zero-phonon line (ZPL) profile is determined by electronic dephasing, which is not accounted for in the multimode Brownian oscillator (MBO) model due to the unphysical contribution from the MBO bath modes to the ZPL profile. Mixed quantum–classical dynamics formalism of non-equilibrium systems is employed to assess the contribution of the bath modes to pure electronic dephasing by probing the ZPL profile when coupled to a classical bath in the mixed quantum–classical condensed systems. Pure electronic dephasing is discussed in the context of mixed quantum–classical dynamics formalism which starts with mixed quantum–classical Liouville equation in a mixed quantum–classical environment. It is noteworthy, however, that the fundamental difference between the fully quantum MBO model and the mixed quantum–classical Brownian oscillator, is that the zero-phonon line calculated by the former shows unphysical asymmetry on the low-energy side as it has not been observed in real systems, whereas the ZPL reported herein eliminates this asymmetry. A systematic approach using matrix mechanics is developed to treat this phenomenon. To this end, a closed-form expression of linear and nonlinear optical electronic transition dipole moment time correlation functions in a dissipative media are derived. Linear absorption spectra and 4-wave mixing signals at various temperatures showing a sound thermal broadening, temporal decay, and accurate pure dephasing further ratify the applicability and correctness of the mixed quantum–classical dynamics approach to spectroscopy and dynamics are computed.

Excited state distribution function for probing Herzberg–Teller vibronic coupling using linear optical response theory: Application to glassy pheophytin a

The goal of the present work is to develop an excited-state distribution function that can be used to calculate electronic transition dipole moment time correlation functions at a considerably low computational cost. An additional merit of the distribution function is its capability to probe the Hertzberg-Teller vibronic coupling effect in terms of the previously reported Condon correlation functions in the literature without having to start from the equilibrium density operator to probe spectral non-Condon effects, thereby exploring Hertzberg-Teller vibronic coupling by building on the Condon regime. It is easily extendable to anharmonic systems. Model calculations are reported to show the high degree of accuracy and computational efficiency of the presented approach. Application to a photosynthetic system such as pheophytin a in triethylamine is provided.

Electronic dephasing of polyatomic molecules interacting with mixed quantum-classical media.

This paper offers an expedient, efficient, and unique treatment of multimode quantum subsystems (polyatomic molecules) interacting with a classical environment in which the time evolution of the coupling term is governed by the algebraic rules of statistical mechanics in mixed quantum-classical systems developed by Kapral and Nielsen [S. Nielsen, R. Kapral, and G. Ciccotti, J. Chem. Phys., 2001, 115, 5805]. This unique time evolution of the coupling term is neither quantal nor classical but rather something different that relies heavily on Wigner transform, thereby leading to non-Newtonian mechanics. As such, an argument is presented that the approach provided herein for treating polyatomic molecular systems in a mixed quantum-classical environment is new and different as opposed to the many other schemes of semiclassical dynamics that are normally employed to study such systems. The merits of expediency and efficiency of the herein mixed quantum-classical dynamics calculations emanate from avoiding using integrals for time evolutions, and, instead, employing matrix mechanics whereby LU decomposition and singular value decomposition (SVD) numerical techniques are utilized for diagonalization. An electronic 2-level subsystem interacting with a classical bath through the spin-boson model to render accurate pure electronic dephasing in multimode molecular systems by eliminating the unphysical asymmetry in the line shape of the zero-phonon line (ZPL) exhibited by other models is exploited. This work has a superior advantage over the single-mode spin-boson model, published previously, whereby a multitude of types of vibrational modes (slow, fast, or both) of the quantum subsystem may readily be handled using different spectral densities. The spin-boson model used here is a composite system made up of a quantum subsystem, i.e., a subsystem bilinearly coupled to a multidimensional harmonic oscillator (representing the intermediate quantum vibrational modes between the electronic subsystem and the bath), interacting with a classical bath, where the coupling term is governed by the mixed quantum-classical Liouville equation. A multidimensional coherent-state approach is employed to deal with the time evolution of the quantum subsystem. A closed-form expression of linear and nonlinear optical electronic transition dipole moment time correlation functions in mixed quantum-classical dissipative media is derived. Pure electronic dephasing is probed using the aforementioned approach. Linear absorption spectra and 4-wave mixing signals (e.g., photon echo and pump-probe) are calculated showing a reasonable thermal broadening, temporal decay, and accurate pure dephasing.

Theory of interactions between cavity photons induced by a mesoscopic circuit

We use a quantum path integral approach to describe the behavior of a microwave cavity coupled to a dissipative mesoscopic circuit. We integrate out the mesoscopic electronic degrees of freedom to obtain a cavity effective action at fourth order in the light/matter coupling. By studying the structure of this action, we establish sufficient conditions in which the cavity dynamics can be described with a Lindblad equation. This equation depends on effective parameters set by electronic correlation functions. It reveals that the mesoscopic circuit induces an effective Kerr interaction and two-photon dissipative processes. We use our method to study the effective dynamics of a cavity coupled to a double quantum dot with normal metal reservoirs. If the cavity is driven at twice its frequency, the double dot circuit generates photonic squeezing and non-classicalities visible in the cavity Wigner function. In particular, we find a counterintuitive situation where mesoscopic dissipation enables the production of photonic Schr\"odinger cats. These effects can occur for realistic circuit parameters. Our method can be generalized straightforwardly to more complex circuit geometries with, for instance, multiple quantum dots, and other types of fermionic reservoirs such as superconductors and ferromagnets.

Spectroscopy of Vibronically Coupled and Duschinskcally Rotated Polyatomic Molecules.

Electron-vibration coupling (or vibronic coupling) of polyatomic molecules in the condensed phase has received considerable attention experimentally and theoretically using linear spectroscopy and four-wave mixing techniques in an effort to probe the structure and dynamics of the system at hand. For this reason, a detailed study of vibronic coupling in harmonic polyatomic molecules featuring a greater degree of computational efficiency is presented. A full treatment of non-Condon systems whereupon linear and nonlinear Herzberg-Teller vibronic coupling and Duschinsky mixing effects in harmonic systems taking place upon electronic excitation is provided. The utilization of an exponential function to express the nuclear dependence of the electronic transition dipole moment, thereby avoiding the finite sum and eigenstate representation that is normally used in computing a non-Condon interaction, leads to a simpler electronic transition dipole moment time correlation function with rapid convergence and better numerical stability than previously reported works. A closed-form expression is obtained for the electronic transition dipole moment time correlation function of polyatomic molecules in which linear and nonlinear Herzberg-Teller vibronic coupling and Duschinsky mixing effects are accounted for. An important numerical observation regarding dealing with branch cuts, which manifest themselves as discontinuities in the function itself or its first derivative, and are often exhibited by complex-valued correlation functions, is noted and treated using the Riemann surface approach. The resultant dipole moment correlation function is in turn employed to calculate linear absorption and hole-burning signals, accounting for the aforementioned spectroscopic effects. A link between wavelets and the electronic transition dipole moment time correlation function in multidimensional harmonic systems is made in the concluding remarks.

Observing pre-edgeK-shell resonances in Kr, Xe, andXeF2

The $1s\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}np$ Rydberg transitions below the $1s$ ionization thresholds of Kr and Xe are obscured in x-ray absorption spectra due to core-hole lifetime broadening. However, the $np$ spectator electrons associated with those resonances can affect the core-hole decay spectra. We report on ion charge-state distributions of Kr and Xe measured in coincidence with ${KL}_{2,3}$ ($K{\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{1,2}$), ${KM}_{2,3}$ ($K{\ensuremath{\beta}}_{1,3}$), and ${\mathrm{KN}}_{2,3}$ ($K{\ensuremath{\beta}}_{2}$) x-ray fluorescence as the incident x-ray energy is scanned through pre-edge resonances and ionization thresholds. The coincidence measurements select vacancy cascades that begin with a radiative transition that transfers $1s$ holes to the $2p$, $3p$, and $4p$ shells followed by emission of Auger electrons. We observe shifts of ion yields from higher to lower charge states that we attribute to $np$ spectator electrons. For the special case of ${\mathrm{Kr}}^{1+}$ that is produced in coincidence with $K{\ensuremath{\beta}}_{2}$ x rays, the ion yield decreases in the pre-edge region. This is attributed to production of neutral, metastable Kr $4{p}^{\ensuremath{-}1}np$ states that reduce the ${\mathrm{Kr}}^{1+}$ yield. Model fits to the x-ray absorption spectra are presented to show the lifetime broadened pre-edge resonances and ionization thresholds. High-level relativistic coupled-cluster calculations that treat relativistic, electron correlation, and wave function relaxation effects on the same footing obtain agreement with the experimental $1s$ ionization energies of Kr and Xe to $<2$ eV. The Xe $K$-edge x-ray absorption spectrum and ion charge-state distributions of ${\mathrm{XeF}}_{2}$ were also recorded. Excitation of the $7{\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{u}$ lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) in ${\mathrm{XeF}}_{2}$ is observed in the pre-edge region. Our ab initio calculations find that the $6{p}_{z}$ Rydberg state is strongly perturbed by the presence of the $7{\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{u}$ LUMO. A fit to the measured LUMO, $6{p}_{x}$, $6{p}_{y}$, $6{p}_{z}$ Rydberg states, and ionization threshold is guided by the relativistic coupled-cluster calculations. The F ligands modify the valence electron charge distribution and result in a $\ensuremath{\sim}2.3$ eV chemical shift of the Xe $1s$ ionization energy relative to atomic Xe. Xe $1{s}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ core-hole decay in ${\mathrm{XeF}}_{2}$ results in ionization of the F ligands and energetic fragmentation into atomic ions. Ion charge-state spectra of ${\mathrm{XeF}}_{2}$ were recorded in coincidence with x-ray fluorescence for excitation on the LUMO resonance and above the Xe $1s$ ionization threshold. For the ion time of flight spectra recorded on the LUMO resonance, the ${\mathrm{F}}^{q+}$ ($q=1$--4) peaks are split into two peaks along the linear polarization direction of the incident x-ray beam. This effect is attributed to spatial alignment of ${\mathrm{XeF}}_{2}$ molecules by resonant x-ray absorption, and the peak splittings are used to measure the F ion fragmentation energies following $K{\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{1,2}$, $K{\ensuremath{\beta}}_{1,3}$, and $K{\ensuremath{\beta}}_{2}$ x-ray fluorescence. We observe variations of the F ion charge state yields and fragmentation energies for the three fluorescence pathways that leave the molecule in different outer-shell hole states.

Laser induced coherent radiation by electrons channeled in a crystal

The coherent radiation of the electrons channeled in a crystal in the presence of an external laser field has been investigated in a semi-classical theory using the density matrix formalism and electron correlation functions. Kinematic methods have been developed to calculate the coherent radiation of a pair of electrons in an external control field. The necessary electron beam parameters, controlling field intensities, coherence observation criteria, as well as some examples of calculated spectra and tabulated data are given.

Global phase diagram of a spin–orbit-coupled Kondo lattice model on the honeycomb lattice**Project supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFA0300504), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11674392), and the Research Funds of Remnin University of China (Grant No. 18XNLG24). Work at Rice was in

Motivated by the growing interest in the novel quantum phases in materials with strong electron correlations and spin–orbit coupling, we study the interplay among the spin–orbit coupling, Kondo interaction, and magnetic frustration of a Kondo lattice model on a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice. We calculate the renormalized electronic structure and correlation functions at the saddle point based on a fermionic representation of the spin operators. We find a global phase diagram of the model at half-filling, which contains a variety of phases due to the competing interactions. In addition to a Kondo insulator, there is a topological insulator with valence bond solid correlations in the spin sector, and two antiferromagnetic phases. Due to the competition between the spin–orbit coupling and Kondo interaction, the direction of the magnetic moments in the antiferromagnetic phases can be either within or perpendicular to the lattice plane. The latter antiferromagnetic state is topologically nontrivial for moderate and strong spin–orbit couplings.

Effect of phonon induced spin-flip processes on correlated quantum dot kinetics

We present a theoretical analysis of relaxation processes in a correlated quantum dot (QD) coupled to a reservoir in the presence of electron-phonon interaction. The effect of both electron-phonon interaction and Coulomb correlations on system's kinetics is analyzed by means of equations of motion for generalized non-equilibrium Green's functions. It is shown that phonon-assisted tunneling enhances the relaxation processes in a correlated quantum dot. Moreover, electron-phonon interaction changes stationary values and typical relaxation rates of the second-order correlation functions for localized electrons. In spite of the fact that electron-phonon interaction is spin independent, it strongly influences spin correlations in the presence of Coulomb interactions between localized electrons. This effect appears to be due to phonon-induced spin-flip processes of localized electrons.

Linear and nonlinear Herzberg-Teller vibronic coupling effects. I: Electronic photon echo spectroscopy

The dependence of the transition dipole moment on nuclear coordinates gives rise to non-Condon interaction, signaling that the adiabatic Herzberg-Teller vibronic coupling should be considered. This coupling manifests itself in linear spectroscopy through the breakdown of the mirror image symmetry between the absorption and emission spectra. The stronger the non-Condon interaction, the more pronounced is the absorption-emission asymmetry. A nuclear exponential function is used as a simple model to represent the electronic transition dipole moment, the purpose of which is to avoid the use of eigenstate-approach, convergence issues, and finally be able to extend its applicability to nonlinear spectroscopy inexpensively while accounting for linear and nonlinear non-Condon effects (Herzberg-Teller vibronic coupling). The non-Condon effects on linear and nonlinear spectroscopic signals (e.g. 2-pulse photon echo) are examined. Closed-form expressions of the non-Condon electronic transition dipole moment time correlation functions, accounting for Herzberg-Teller vibronic coupling effects, are derived. It is shown that nonlinear optical signals in time domain such as 2-pulse photon echo signal, conspicuously reflects the degree of the non-Condon interaction (mostly constructive interference in this work) despite the inhomogeneous broadening disguising the homogeneous structural aspects of the molecular system of interest. As such, this study should be useful in relation to extracting structural and dynamical information of condensed molecular systems. Model calculations of absorption and emission spectra and 2-pulse photon echo signals of Herzberg-Teller vibronically coupled systems are presented. The method presented here seems to more efficient computationally, fast and stable compared to the methods which involve perturbation theory and eigenstate expansion.

Efficient Atomistic Simulation of Heterostructure Field-Effect Transistors

In this paper, atomistic-level quantum mechanical simulations are performed for nanoscale field-effect transistors (FETs) with lateral or vertical heterojunction, within the non-equilibrium Green’s function formalism. For efficient simulation of such heterostructure FETs, a novel approach is developed where the Green’s functions are calculated by complementarily using the two algorithms of the recursive Green’s function and the $R$ -matrix. The $R$ -matrix algorithm is extended to seamlessly combine the two methods on the open system and an algorithm for the electron correlation function based on the extended $R$ -matrix algorithm is also developed. The proposed method significantly reduces simulation time, making rigorous atomistic simulations of heterojunction FETs possible. As an application, device simulations are performed for the germanane/InSe vertical tunneling FET (VTFET) modeled through the first-principles density functional theory. Our simulation results reveal that the germanane/InSe VTFET is a promising candidate for future low power applications.

Dynamic spin injection into a quantum well coupled to a spin-split bound state

We present a theoretical analysis of dynamic spin injection due to spin-dependent tunneling between a quantum well (QW) and a bound state split in spin projection due to an exchange interaction or external magnetic field. We focus on the impact of Coulomb correlations at the bound state on spin polarization and sheet density kinetics of the charge carriers in the QW. The theoretical approach is based on kinetic equations for the electron occupation numbers taking into account high order correlation functions for the bound state electrons. It is shown that the on-site Coulomb repulsion leads to an enhanced dynamic spin polarization of the electrons in the QW and a delay in the carriers tunneling into the bound state. The interplay of these two effects leads to non-trivial dependence of the spin polarization degree, which can be probed experimentally using time-resolved photoluminescence experiments. It is demonstrated that the influence of the Coulomb interactions can be controlled by adjusting the relaxation rates. These findings open a new way of studying the Hubbard-like electron interactions experimentally.

Quenched dynamics of entangled states in correlated quantum dots

Time evolution of initially prepared entangled state in the system of coupled quantum dots has been analyzed by means of two different theoretical approaches: equations of motion for the all orders localized electron correlation functions, considering interference effects, and kinetic equations for the pseudo-particle occupation numbers with constraint on the possible physical states. Results obtained by means of different approaches were carefully analyzed and compared with each other. Revealed direct link between concurrence (degree of entanglement) and quantum dots pair correlation functions allowed us to follow the changes of entanglement during time evolution of the coupled quantum dots system. It was demonstrated that the degree of entanglement can be controllably tuned during the time evolution of quantum dots system.

Fingerprints of Majorana fermions in current-correlation measurements from a superconducting tunnel microscope

We compute various current correlation functions of electrons flowing from a topological nanowire to the tip of a superconducting scanning tunnel microscope and identify fingerprints of a Majorana bound state. In particular, the spin resolved cross-correlations are shown to display a clear distinction between the presence of a such an exotic state (negative correlations) and an Andreev bound state (positive correlations). Similarity and differences with measurements with a normal tunnel microscope are also discussed, like the robustness to finite temperature for instance.

A time-correlation function approach to nuclear dynamical effects in X-ray spectroscopy.

Modern X-ray spectroscopy has proven itself as a robust tool for probing the electronic structure of atoms in complex environments. Despite working on energy scales that are much larger than those corresponding to nuclear motions, taking nuclear dynamics and the associated nuclear correlations into account may be of importance for X-ray spectroscopy. Recently, we have developed an efficient protocol to account for nuclear dynamics in X-ray absorption and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering spectra [Karsten et al., J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 8, 992 (2017)], based on ground state molecular dynamics accompanied with state-of-the-art calculations of electronic excitation energies and transition dipoles. Here, we present an alternative derivation of the formalism and elaborate on the developed simulation protocol using gas phase and bulk water as examples. The specific spectroscopic features stemming from the nuclear motions are analyzed and traced down to the dynamics of electronic energy gaps and transition dipole correlation functions. The observed tendencies are explained on the basis of a simple harmonic model, and the involved approximations are discussed. The method represents a step forward over the conventional approaches that treat the system in full complexity and provides a reasonable starting point for further improvements.

Kinetics of a local “magnetic” moment and a non-stationary spin-polarized current in the single impurity Anderson model

We perform theoretical investigation of the localized state dynamics in the presence of interaction with the reservoir and Coulomb correlations. We analyze kinetic equations for electron occupation numbers with different spins taking into account high order correlation functions for the localized electrons. We reveal that in the stationary state electron occupation numbers with the opposite spins always have the same value - the stationary state is a $"$paramagnetic$"$ one. $"$Magnetic$"$ properties can appear only in the non-stationary characteristics of the single-impurity Anderson model and in the dynamics of the localized electrons second order correlation functions. We found, that for deep energy levels and strong Coulomb correlations, relaxation time for initial $"$magnetic$"$ state can be several orders larger than for $"$paramagnetic$"$ one. So, long-living $"$magnetic$"$ moment can exist in the system. We also found non-stationary spin polarized currents flowing in opposite directions for the different spins in the particular time interval.