Opening-assisted coherent transport in the semiclassical regime

Area of Science:

• Quantum physics
• Transport phenomena
• Condensed matter theory

Background:

• Quantum coherence plays a crucial role in energy and charge transport.
• Open quantum systems are subject to environmental interactions like dephasing and disorder.
• Understanding transport mechanisms is vital for quantum technologies and biological processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate quantum enhancement of transport in open systems under disorder and dephasing.
• To determine the conditions under which quantum coherence significantly impacts transport.
• To identify optimal system parameters for maximizing coherent transport.

Main Methods:

• Analytical investigation using paradigmatic tight-binding models (linear chain, fully connected network).
• Analysis of quantum transport in the presence of disorder and dephasing.
• Exploration of the semiclassical regime where decoherence rate exceeds hopping amplitude.

Main Results:

• Quantum coherence can enhance transport even in the semiclassical regime if disorder is strong.
• An optimal system opening strength exists for maximizing coherent transport enhancement when disorder and dephasing are fixed.
• The Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) photosynthetic complex exhibits behaviors consistent with these findings.

Conclusions:

• Disorder and dephasing interplay with quantum coherence to influence transport.
• Optimal system design can leverage quantum effects for efficient transport.
• The FMO complex serves as a relevant biological model for these quantum transport phenomena.