Person:

Aspuru-Guzik, Alan

The reduced density matrix of excitons coupled to a phonon bath at a finite temperature is studied using the path integral Monte Carlo method. Appropriate choices of estimators and importance sampling schemes are crucial to the performance of the Monte Carlo simulation. We show that by choosing the population-normalized estimator for the reduced density matrix, an efficient and physically-meaningful sampling function can be obtained. In addition, the nonadiabatic phonon probability density is obtained as a byproduct during the sampling procedure. For importance sampling, we adopted the Metropolis-adjusted Langevin algorithm. The analytic expression for the gradient of the target probability density function associated with the population-normalized estimator cannot be obtained in closed form without a matrix power series. An approximated gradient that can be efficiently calculated is explored to achieve better computational scaling and efficiency. Application to a simple one-dimensional model system from the previous literature confirms the correctness of the method developed in this manuscript. The displaced harmonic model system within the single exciton manifold shows the numerically exact temperature dependence of the coherence and population of the excitonic system. The sampling scheme can be applied to an arbitrary anharmonic environment, such as multichromophoric systems embedded in the protein complex. The result of this study is expected to stimulate further development of real time propagation methods that satisfy the detailed balance condition for exciton populations.

We investigate the evolution of entanglement in the Fenna-Matthew-Olson (FMO) complex based on simulations using the scaled hierarchy equation of motion (HEOM) approach. We examine the role of multipartite entanglement in the FMO complex by direct computation of the convex roof optimization for a number of measures, including some that have not been previously evaluated. We also consider the role of monogamy of entanglement in these simulations. We utilize the fact that the monogamy bounds are saturated in the single exciton subspace. This enables us to compute more measures of entanglement exactly and also to validate the evaluation of the convex roof. We then use direct computation of the convex roof to evaluate measures that are not determined by monogamy. This approach provides a more complete account of the entanglement in these systems than has been available to date. Our results support the hypothesis that multipartite entanglement is maximum primary along the two distinct electronic energy transfer pathways.

Topological phases exhibit some of the most striking phenomena in modern physics. Much of the rich behaviour of quantum Hall systems, topological insulators, and topological superconductors can be traced to the existence of robust bound states at interfaces between different topological phases. This robustness has applications in metrology and holds promise for future uses in quantum computing. Engineered quantum systems—notably in photonics, where wavefunctions can be observed directly—provide versatile platforms for creating and probing a variety of topological phases. Here we use photonic quantum walks to observe bound states between systems with different bulk topological properties and demonstrate their robustness to perturbations—a signature of topological protection. Although such bound states are usually discussed for static (time-independent) systems, here we demonstrate their existence in an explicitly time-dependent situation. Moreover, we discover a new phenomenon: a topologically protected pair of bound states unique to periodically driven systems.

In this article, we prove the one-to-one correspondence between vector potentials and particle and current densities in the context of master equations with arbitrary memory kernels, therefore extending time-dependent current-density functional theory (TD-CDFT) to the domain of generalized many-body open quantum systems (OQS). We also analyse the issue of A-representability for the Kohn–Sham (KS) scheme proposed by D’Agosta and Di Ventra for Markovian OQS [Phys. Rev. Lett. 2007, 98, 226403] and discuss its domain of validity. We suggest ways to expand their scheme, but also propose a novel KS scheme where the auxiliary system is both closed and non-interacting. This scheme is tested numerically with a model system, and several considerations for the future development of functionals are indicated. Our results formalize the possibility of practising TD-CDFT in OQS, hence expanding the applicability of the theory to non-Hamiltonian evolutions.

Raman signals from molecules adsorbed on a noble metal surface are enhanced by many orders of magnitude due to the plasmon resonances of the substrate. Additionally, the enhanced spectra are modified compared to the spectra of neat molecules; many vibrational frequencies are shifted, and relative intensities undergo significant changes upon attachment to the metal. With the goal of devising an effective scheme for separating the electromagnetic and chemical effects, we explore the origin of the Raman spectra modification of benzenethiol adsorbed on nanostructured gold surfaces. The spectral modifications are attributed to the frequency dependence of the electromagnetic enhancement and to the effect of chemical binding. The latter contribution can be reproduced computationally using molecule−metal cluster models. We present evidence that the effect of chemical binding is mostly due to changes in the electronic structure of the molecule rather than to the fixed orientation of molecules relative to the substrate.

We present a detailed theoretical study of the transfer of electronic excitation energy through the Fenna−Matthews−Olson (FMO) pigment−protein complex, using the newly developed modified scaled hierarchical approach (Shi, Q.; et al. J. Chem. Phys. 2009, 130, 084105). We show that this approach is computationally more efficient than the original hierarchical approach. The modified approach reduces the truncation levels of the auxiliary density operators and the correlation function. We provide a systematic study of how the number of auxiliary density operators and the higher-order correlation functions affect the exciton dynamics. The time scales of the coherent beating are consistent with experimental observations. Furthermore, our theoretical results exhibit population beating at physiological temperature. Additionally, the method does not require a low-temperature correction to obtain the correct thermal equilibrium at long times.

Recently, an optimum mobility of (8.3 cm^2/(Vs)) has been measured for single-crystal organic field-effect transistors based on the dinaphtho[2,3-b:2′,3′-f]thieno[3,2-b]-thiophene (DNTT) molecule. Here, on the basis of quantum chemistry calculations and molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the microscopic charge transport parameters of the DNTT molecule and crystal. Our findings confirm that the moderate anisotropy of the hole mobility in DNTT is highly dependent on the presence of in-plane herringbonelike intermolecular interactions with large electronic coupling (transfer integral) values (ca. 0.1 eV). Also, we demonstrate that the π-extended heteroaromatic structure leads to strong electronic coupling interactions among neighboring molecules and to a decrease of the intramolecular reorganization energy. In DNTT, thermal modulations of the electronic couplings at 300 K remain small when compared to those exhibited by the pentacene single crystal. This theoretical study suggests that heteroacenes are a promising route toward high-mobility organic semiconductor materials. Charge transport is discussed in the framework of both band and hopping models.

In its original formulation, TDDFT addresses the isolated dynamics of electronic systems evolving unitarily (Runge and Gross 1984). However, there exist many situations in which the electronic degrees of freedom are not isolated, but must be treated as a subsystem imbedded in a much larger thermal bath.

Excess charge stabilization of molecules in metallic environments is of particular importance for fields such as molecular electronics and surface chemistry. We study the energetics of benzene and its anion between two metallic plates. We observe that orientational effects are important at small inter-plate separation. This leads to benzene oriented perpendicular to the gates being more stable than the parallel case due to induced dipole effects. We find that the benzene anion, known for being unstable in the gas-phase, is stabilized by the plates at zero bias and an inter-plate distance of 21 Å. We also observe the effect of benzene under a voltage bias generated by the plates; under a negative bias, the anion becomes destabilized. We use the electron localization function to analyze the changes in electron density due to the bias. These findings suggest that image effects such as those present in nanoscale devices, are able to stabilize excess charge and should be important to consider when modeling molecular transport junctions and charge-transfer effects.

Over the last century, a large number of physical and mathematical developments paired with rapidly advancing technology have allowed the field of quantum chemistry to advance dramatically. However, the lack of computationally efficient methods for the exact simulation of quantum systems on classical computers presents a limitation of current computational approaches. We report, in detail, how a set of pre-computed molecular integrals can be used to explicitly create a quantum circuit, i.e. a sequence of elementary quantum operations, that, when run on a quantum computer, obtains the energy of a molecular system with fixed nuclear geometry using the quantum phase estimation algorithm. We extend several known results related to this idea and discuss the adiabatic state preparation procedure for preparing the input states used in the algorithm. With current and near future quantum devices in mind, we provide a complete example using the hydrogen molecule of how a chemical Hamiltonian can be simulated using a quantum computer.