Dear Group,
Our group meeting this coming Friday will be a special group meeting
given by Professor Natalya Zimbovskaya, a physicist visiting us from the
University of Puerto Rico. It will be at the usual time and place
(11:30 AM in the Cabot Division Room). Details about her talk are given
below.
In addition, if any of you are interested in meeting with her one-on-one
or in a small group on Friday, please let me know and I can help arrange
a meeting, as she is eager to meet members of our group. Details about
her research can be found at:
http://www.ifn.upr.edu/people/32-natalya-zimbovskaya
<http://www.ifn.upr.edu/people/32-natalya-zimbovskaya>
Finally, please note that Cesar (who was originally scheduled to give
group meeting) will still be giving his group meeting on Friday, but it
will be in the AFTERNOON at 3:30 PM (also in the Cabot Division Room),
after which we can all go enjoy some good beer at TGIF.
Cheers,
Jacob
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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 using 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.