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 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.