title: Vibrational effects in laser-driven molecular wires.
abstract: 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 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.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Physik, Universität Augsburg, Universitätsstrasse 1, D-86135, Germany.
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lehmann
authors.forename: Sigmund
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kohler
authors.forename: Volkhard
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: May
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hänggi