Polaron assisted charge transfer in model biological systems

We use a tight binding Hamiltonian to simulate the electron transfer from an initialcharge-separating exciton to a final target state through a two-arm transfer model. Thestructure is copied from the model frequently used to describe electron harvesting inphotosynthesis (photosystems I). We use this network to provide proof of principle fordynamics, in quantum system/bath networks, especially those involving interferencepathways, and use these results to make predictions on artificially realizable systems.Each site is coupled to the phonon bath via several electron-phonon couplings. The assumedlarge energy gaps and weak tunneling integrals linking the last 3 sites give rise to“StarkWannier like” quantum localization; electron transfer to the target cluster becomesimpossible without bath coupling. As a result of the electron-phonon coupling, localelectronic energies relax when the site is occupied, and transient polaronic states areformed as photo-generated electrons traverse the system. For a symmetric constructivelyinterfering two pathway network, the population is shared equally between two sets ofequivalent sites and therefore the polaron energy shift is smaller. The smaller energyshift however makes the tunnel transfer to the last site slower or blocks it altogether.Slight disorder (or thermal noise) can break the symmetry, permitting essentially a “onepath”, and correspondingly more efficient transfer.     

Probing the out-of-plane distortion of single point defects in atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride at the picometer scale

Crystalline systems often lower their energy by atom displacements from regular high-symmetry lattice sites. We demonstrate that such symmetry lowering distortions can be visualized by ultrahigh resolution transmission electron microscopy even at single point defects. Experimental investigation of structural distortions at the monovacancy defects in suspended bilayers of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) accompanied by first-principles calculations reveals a characteristic charge-induced pm symmetry configuration of boron vacancies. This symmetry breaking is caused by interlayer bond reconstruction across the bilayer h-BN at the negatively charged boron vacancy defects and results in local membrane bending at the defect site. This study confirms that boron vacancies are dominantly present in the h-BN membrane.     

链间耦合对聚乙炔多链体系中电子极化子再激发态的影响

从拓展紧束缚模型出发,研究了链间耦合对反式聚乙炔多链体系中电子极化子再激发态的晶格位形、净电荷密度、局域能级波函数和态密度的影响。结果发现：对于两条链体系,当链间耦合很小（eV）时,注入到系统中的电子只会在第一条链上诱发产生一个晶格缺陷,形成电子极化子再激发态,这和单链体系是一致,而第二条链仍是二聚化基态。随着链间耦合的增大,第一条链上缺陷的局域度减少而第二条链上的缺陷局域度相应增加,直至两条链上的位形相同。对于多条链（5条链和6条链）体系,当耦合很小（0.05eV）时,电子极化子再激发态也只会存在于一条链上,当链间耦合较强时,极化子再激发态会在链间层次性地扩展开来,并不会出现多条链位形相同。从两条链的能级图上可以看到随着链间耦合的增大,体系的带隙不断的增大和电子态密度显示的是完全吻合的,体系的导电性减弱。通过分析两条链体系在eV和eV的能级态密度,发现链间耦合越强,则中间局域能级的态密度越小,最后没有中间局域态。     

高聚物中极化子和三重态激子的碰撞过程研究

采用一维紧束缚近似的SSH模型,计算了不同强度的电场下高聚物中一个负电极化子和一个三重态激子的碰撞过程.结果表明,碰撞后体系仍保持为极化子和三重态激子状态的几率最大,束缚在极化子缺陷中的电子有较大的几率被激发到导带形成自由电子,另外,三重态激子有一定的几率被极化子湮灭形成极化子激发态.极化子和激子的碰撞对极化子的稳定性有影响,还会使能隙中出现新的能级.由于极化子激发态可以通过辐射跃迁回到基态,因此碰撞会对高聚物的电致发光效率产生一定影响.研究结果对于理解高聚物中极化子的输运性质和高聚物的发光性质具有一定的 关键词： 极化子 激子 高聚物     

链间耦合对聚乙炔多链体系中电子极化子再激发态的影响

采用拓展紧束缚Su-Schrieffer-Heeger(SSH)模型,研究了链间耦合对反式聚乙炔多链体系中电子极化子再激发态的晶格位形、净电荷密度、局域能级波函数和态密度的影响.结果发现:对于两条链体系,当链间耦合很小(t⊥≤0.01 e V)时,注入到系统中的电子只会在第一条链上诱发产生一个晶格缺陷,形成电子极化子再激发态,这和单链体系是一致,而第二条链仍是二聚化基态.随着链间耦合的增大,第一条链上缺陷的局域度减少而第二条链上的缺陷局域度相应增加,直至两条链上的位形相同;对于多条链(5条链和6条链)体系,当耦合很小(t⊥≤0.05 e V)时,电子极化子再激发态也只会存在于一条链上,当链间耦合较强时,极化子再激发态会在链间层次性地扩展开来,并不会出现多条链位形相同;从两条链的能级图上可以看到随着链间耦合t⊥的增大,体系的带隙不断的增大和电子态密度显示的是完全吻合的,体系的导电性减弱.通过分析两条链体系在t⊥=0 e V和t⊥=0.1 e V的能级态密度,发现链间耦合越强,则中间局域能级的态密度越小,最后没有中间局域态.     

Detection of defects binding free polarons in colored alkali halide crystals

The assumption has been made that defects binding free polarons in colored alkali halide crystals are F'-center, i.e., defects that slow down the motion of dislocations (photoplastic effect). This assumption has been confirmed by the experiments performed in this study. Thus, the anion vacancy in alkali halide crystals at a low temperature can capture three electrons: two electrons at a deep level (F'-center) and one electron in a bound polaron state. This electron is retained due to the energy gain in the interaction of a local deformation of the polaron and a local deformation surrounding the F'-center, despite the presence of the Coulomb repulsion.     

Small polaron formation in many-particle states of the Hubbard-Holstein model: The one-dimensional case

We investigate polaron formation in a many-electron system in the presence of a local repulsion sufficiently strong to prevent local-bipolaron formation. Specifically, we consider a Hubbard-Holstein model of interacting electrons coupled to dispersionless phonons of frequency . Numerically solving the model in a small one-dimensional cluster, we find that in the nearly adiabatic case , the necessary and sufficient condition for the polaronic regime to occur is that the energy gain in the atomic (i.e., extremely localized) regime overcomes the energy of the purely electronic system . In the antiadiabatic case, , polaron formation is instead driven by the condition of a large ionic displacement (g being the electron-phonon coupling). Dynamical properties of the model in the weak and moderately strong coupling regimes are also analyzed. Received 15 February 1999     

Localized States of an Excess Electron in an Ionic Cluster

A theory of an electron affinity for an ionic cluster is proposed both in a quasiclassical approach and with quantization of a polarization electric field in a nanopartiele. A critical size of the cluster regarding in formation of an electron＇s autolocalized state, dependencies of energy and radius of a polaron on a cluster＇s size are obtained by a variational method. It has been found that binding energy of the electron in the cluster depends on a eluster＇s radius but a radius of electron＇s auto-localization does not depend on the cluster＇s radius and it equals to the polaron radius in a corresponding infinity crystal. A bound state of the electron in a cluster is possible only if the duster＇s radius is more than the polaron radius.     

Localized States of an Excess Electron in an Ionic Cluster

A theory of an electron affinity for an ionic cluster is proposed both in a quasiclassical approach and with quantization of a polarization electric field in a nanoparticle. A critical size of the cluster regarding in formation of an electron's autolocalized state, dependencies of energy and radius of a polaron on a cluster's size are obtained by a variational method. It has been found that binding energy of the electron in the cluster depends on a cluster's radius but a radius of electron's auto-localization does not depend on the cluster's radius and it equals to the polaron radius in a corresponding infinity crystal. A bound state of the electron in a cluster is possible only if the cluster's radius is more than the polaron radius.     

有限深抛物势量子盘中极化子的激发态性质

量子点作为一种重要的低维纳米结构, 近年来在单光子光源和新型量子点单光子探测器的研究引起了人们的广泛关注, 对各种势阱中量子点性质的研究已取得了重要成果. 但是大多理论研究都局限于无限深势阱, 而有限深势阱更具有实际意义. 利用平面波展开、幺正变换和变分相结合的方法研究了有限深势阱中极化子激发态能量及激发能随势阱形状和量子盘大小的变化规律. 数值计算结果表明: 极化子的激发态能量、激发能随势垒高度或宽度的增大而增大, 原因是势垒愈高、愈宽, 电子穿透势垒的可能性愈小, 电子在阱内运动的可能性愈大, 进而导致极化子的激发态能量和激发能均随势垒高度和宽度的增大而增大; 极化子的激发态能量和激发能随量子盘半径的增大而减小, 表明量子盘具有显著的量子尺寸效应; 极化子的激发态能量随有效受限长度的增加而减小, 原因是有效受限长度愈大, 有效受限强度愈小, 电子受到的束缚愈弱、振动愈慢、势能愈小, 进而导致基态能量、激发态能量减小; 同时由于激发态能量较基态能量减小慢, 使得激发能随之增加. 研究结果对量子点的应用具有一定的理论指导意义.     

Holstein极化子能带和有效质量的温度依赖性

使用正则变换方法,考察了一维Holstein极化子能带和有效质量的温度依赖性。结果表明,对于一定的电子声子耦合强度,Holstein极化子能带宽度随温度升高而变窄,有效质量随温度升高而增大。特别是当电子声子耦合强度足够大时,极化子能带宽度在很小的温度范围内会迅速地变为零,我们认为这种情况实际上是极化子从能带状态向自陷局域态的迅速转变,这与通常的相变现象有点相类似。当电子声子耦合常数越大时,极化子有效质量随温度的升高而增加得越快。很显然,研究电子声子相互作用,对理解固体的光学和输运等性质将有重要的意义。     

强耦合表面极化子的激发能量

采用线性组合算符方法及幺正变换方法研究了电子与表面光学(SO)声子和体纵光学(LO)声子均为强耦合的表面极化子的激发态性质.计算了体系的有效哈密顿量、振动频率和体系由基态向第一激发态跃迁所需的激发能量.     

Formation of two-dimensional polarons that are absent in three-dimensional crystals

We report the direct time domain observation of a many-body process in a two-dimensional system: small polaron formation from the localization of a conduction band electron in NaCl thin films of unit cell thickness. Contrary to theoretical prediction for bulk NaCl crystal where an electron polaron does not exist, time-resolved two-photon photoemission reveals small polaron formation from delocalized conduction band electrons in crystalline NaCl thin films. The increased deformability and the reduced electronic bandwidth of a crystalline lattice in the thin film format are both responsible for the formation of small polarons that are absent in bulk solids.     

First principles molecular dynamics study of nitrogen vacancy complexes in boronitrene

We present the results of first principles molecular dynamics simulations of nitrogen vacancy complexes in monolayer hexagonal boron nitride. The threshold for local structure reconstruction is found to be sensitive to the presence of a substitutional carbon impurity. We show that activated nitrogen dynamics triggers the annihilation of defects in the layer through formation of Stone-Wales-type structures. The lowest energy state of nitrogen vacancy complexes is negatively charged and spin polarized. Using the divacancy complex, we show that their formation induces spontaneous magnetic moments, which is tunable by electron or hole injection. The Fermi level s-resonant defect state is identified as a unique signature of the ground state of the divacancy complex. Due to their ability to enhance structural cohesion, only the divacancy and the nitrogen vacancy carbon-antisite complexes are able to suppress the Fermi level resonant defect state to open a gap between the conduction and valence bands.     

Possible polaron formation of zigzag graphene nano-ribbon in the presence of Rashba spin–orbit coupling

In this article we study the role of Rashba spin–orbit coupling and electron–phonon interaction on the electronic structure of zigzag graphene nanoribbon with different width. The total Hamiltonian of nanoribbon is written in the tight binding form and the electron–electron interaction is modeled in the Hubbard term. We used a unitary transformation to reach an effective Hamiltonian for nano ribbon in the presence of electron–phonon interaction. Our results show that small Rashba spin orbit coupling annihilates the anti-ferromagnetic phase in the zigzag edges of ribbon and the electron–phonon interaction yields small polaron formation in graphene nano ribbon. Furthermore, Rashba type spin–orbit coupling increases (decreases) the polaron formation energy for up (down) spin state.     

共轭高聚物链中极化子生成的掺杂效应

在紧束缚近似下,用绝热动力学演化的方法研究了共轭高聚物链中低浓度掺杂对极化子生成位置的影响。研究发现,掺入杂质与注入电子的先后次序不同,极化子生成的位置会有很大差别,先注入电子后掺入杂质的情况下,在链端自由区与过渡区,极化子生成位置受杂质影响较小;而先杂质后电子的次序下,极化子的生成位置明显受到杂质的控制。该研究表明共轭高聚物链中极化子的生成位置可通过调节掺杂与电荷注入的次序加以控制,从而可达到间接改变载流子迁移率的目的。     

Influence of spin–orbit interactions on the polaron properties in wurtzite semiconductor quantum well

We have study the simultaneous effect of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit interactions on the polaron properties in wurtzite semiconductor quantum wells. The linear and cubic contributions of the bulk Dresselhaus spin–orbit coupling and the effects of phonon confinement on electron–optical-phonon interaction Hamiltonians are taken into account. We have found analytical solutions for the polaron energies as well as polaron effective mass within the range of validity of perturbation theory. It is shown that the polaron energy and effective mass correction are both significantly enhanced by the spin–orbit coupling. Wave number dependent phonon contribution on the electron energy has minima and varies differently of the spin-up and spin-down states. Polaron self-energy due to interface optical phonon modes has larger values than of the confined optical phonon modes ones. The polaron effective mass exhibits anisotropy and the contribution of the Dresselhaus spin–orbit coupling term on the polaron effective mass is dominated by Rashba one.     

六方氮化硼单层中一种(CN)3VB缺陷的第一性原理计算

二维六方氮化硼(hBN)的点缺陷最近被发现可以实现室温下的单光子发射,而成为近年的研究热点.尽管其具有重要的基础和应用研究意义,hBN中发光缺陷的原子结构起源仍然存在争议.本文采用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理计算,研究hBN单层中一种B空位附近3个N原子被C替代的缺陷(CN)3VB.在hBN的B空位处,3个N原子各自带一个在平面内的悬挂键及相应的未配对电子,而通过C替换可以消除未配对的电子.系统研究了(CN)3VB缺陷的几何结构、电子结构以及光学性质,结果表明,缺陷可以由一个对称的亚稳态经过原子结构弛豫变成1个非对称的、3个C原子连在一起的基态结构.缺陷的形成在hBN中引入了一些由缺陷悬挂σ键及重构的π键贡献的局域缺陷态.这些缺陷态可以导致能量阈值在2.58 eV附近的可见光内部跃迁.本文的工作有助于进一步理解hBN中点缺陷的构成及光学性质,为实验上探讨发光点缺陷的原子结构起源及其性质提供理论依据.     

Hot electron relaxation in one-dimensional models: exact polaron dynamics versus relaxation in the presence of a Fermi sea

We present the exact solution for the time evolution of the electron and phonon momentum distribution for a one-dimensional polaron model with alinear electronic energy dispersion. The electron momentum distribution is shown to obey aMarkovian quantum kinetic equation. Numerical results for the polaron model are compared to the corresponding exact results, when the negative momentum states are filled in the initial state. The presence of this Fermi sea modifies the dynamics except in the short time regime. The different, long time dynamics might show up in comparison of hot electron relaxation of undoped and doped semiconductors.     

弱耦合多原子半无限晶体中磁极化子的激发能量

近年来国内外对多原子极性晶体中磁极化子性质的研究十分活跃,Zorkani等采用变分法计算了束缚磁极化子的基态能量,Kandemir等采用束缚朗道态讨论了二维大磁极化子的基态和第一激发态能量,国内一些学者采用微扰法和新颖算符法讨论了多原子极性晶体中表面和体磁极化子的性质。采用线性组合算符和幺正变换,研究磁场中多原子半无限极性晶体中电子和光学声子弱耦合相互作用所产生的极化子的第一激发态能量及平均声子数。结果表明:当电子无限接近晶体表面时,磁极化子的基态能量仅为Landau能量;第一激发态能量为Landau基态能量的2倍;平均声子数等于各支与电子耦合的体光学声子数和表面光学声子数之和。而当电子处于晶体深处时,磁极化子的基态能量却为Landau基态能量与各支体光学声子以及表面光学声子分别耦合的能量之和;第一激发态能量仍为Landau基态能量的2倍;平均声子数等于各支与电子耦合的体光学声子数和与所处深度有关的各支体光学声子数之和,而与各支表面光学声子无关。