Transport signature of pseudo-Jahn-Teller dynamics in a single-molecule transistor

Abstract

We calculate the electronic transport through a molecular dimer, in which an excess electron is delocalized over equivalent monomers, which can be locally distorted. In this system the Born-Oppenheimer approximation breaks down resulting in quantum entanglement of the mechanical and electronic motion. We show that pseudo Jahn-Teller (pJT) dynamics of the molecule gives rise to conductance peaks that indicate this violation. Their magnitude, sign and position sharply depend on the electro-mechanical properties of the molecule, which can be varied in recently developed three-terminal junctions with mechanical control. The predicted effect depends crucially on the degree of intramolecular delocalization of the excess electron, a parameter which is also of fundamental importance in physical chemistry.

6 pages, 3 figures

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Cited by in corpus (6)

• Kinetic Equations for Transport Through Single-Molecule Transistors
• Charge transport through single molecules, quantum dots, and quantum wires
• Quantum Interference and Decoherence in Single-Molecule Junctions: How Vibrations Induce Electrical Current
• Vibrationally Induced Decoherence in Single-Molecule Junctions
• Effect of nonadiabatic electronic-vibrational interactions on the transport properties of single-molecule junctions
• Vibrational detection and control of spin in mixed-valence molecular transistors