Details of Professor Zimbovskaya's Talk

Title: Electron transport through molecules

Abstract: We consider the effects of stochastic nuclear motions on the electron transport through molecular junctions.  We treat a molecule sandwiched between metal electrodes as a quantum dot, and we represent the thermal environment as a phonon both directly or indirectly coupled to the latter.  The electron transmission is computed using the Buttiker model within the scattering matrix formalism.  This approach is further developed, and the dephasing parameter is expressed in terms of relevant energies including the thermal energy.  Temperature dependencies of current and conductance are analyzed, and the results are applied to study electron transport in conducting polymers.  We trace the transition from the Coulomb blockade regime to Kondo regime in the electron transport through the quantum dot occurring when we gradually strengthen the coupling of the dot to the charge reservoirs.  The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics are calculated us ing the equations of motion approach within the nonequilibrium Green's functions formalism beyond the Hartree-Fock approximation.  The results are consistent with the results obtained by means of the transition rate equations.