Decoherent Histories and Non-adiabatic Quantum Molecular Dynamics

The role of quantum coherence loss in mixed quantum-classical dynamical systems is explored in the context of the theory of quantum decoherence introduced recently by Bittner and Rossky. (J. Chem. Phys. {\bf 103}, 8130 (1995)). This theory, which is based upon the consistent histories interpretation of quantum mechanics, introduces decoherence in the quantum subsystem by carefully considering the relevant time and length scales over which one must consider the effects of phase interference between alternative histories of the classical subsystem. Such alternative histories are an integral part of any quantum-classical computational scheme which employ transitions between discrete quantum states; consequently, the coherences between alternative histories have a profound effect on the transition probability between quantum states. In this paper, we review the Bittner-Rossky theory and detail a computational algorithm suitable for large-scale quantum molecular dynamics simulations which implements this theory. Application of the algorithm towards the relaxation of a photoexcited aqueous electron compare well to previous estimates of the excited state survival time as well as to the experimental measurements.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figure

An effective Hamiltonian approach for Donor-Bridge-Acceptor electronic transitions: Exploring the role of bath memory

We present here a formally exact model for electronic transitions between an initial (donor) and final (acceptor) states linked by an intermediate (bridge) state. Our model incorporates a common set of vibrational modes that are coupled to the donor, bridge, and acceptor states and serves as a dissipative bath that destroys quantum coherence between the donor and acceptor. Taking the memory time of the bath as a free parameter, we calculate transition rates for a heuristic 3-state/2 mode Hamiltonian system parameterized to represent the energetics and couplings in a typical organic photovoltaic system. Our results indicate that if the memory time of the bath is of the order of 10-100 fs, a two-state kinetic (i.e., incoherent hopping) model will grossly underestimate overall transition rate.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

Energy relaxation dynamics and universal scaling laws in organic light emitting diodes

Electron-hole (e-h) capture in luminescent conjugated polymers (LCPs) is modeled by the dissipative dynamics of a multilevel electronic system coupled to a phonon bath. Electroinjected e-h pairs are simulated by a mixed quantum state, which relaxes via phonon-driven internal conversions to low-lying charge-transfer (CT) and excitonic (XT) states. The underlying two-band polymer model reflects PPV and spans monoexcited configuration interaction singlets (S) and triplets (T), coupled to Franck-Condon active C=C stretches and ring-torsions. Focusing entirely upon long PPV chains, we consider the recombination kinetics of an initially separated CT pair. Our model calculations indicated that S and T recombination proceeds according to a branched, two-step mechanism dictated by near e-h symmetry. The initial relaxation occurs rapidly with nearly half of the population going into excitons ($S_{XT}$ or $T_{XT}$), while the remaining portion remains locked in metastable CT states. While formation rates of $S_{CT}$ and $T_{CT}$ are nearly equal, $S_{XT}$ is formed about twice as fast $T_{XT}$ in concurrence with experimental observations of these systems. Furthermore, breaking e-h symmetry suppresses the XT to CT branching ratio for triplets and opens a slow CT$\to$ XT conversion channel exclusively for singlets due to dipole-dipole interactions between geminate and non-geminate configurations. Finally, our calculations yield a remarkable linear relation between chain length and singlet/triplet branching ratio which can be explained in terms of the binding energies of the respective final excitonic states and the scaling of singlet-triplet energy gap with chain length.Comment: For IJQC-Sanibel Quantum Chemistry Symposium, 200

Calculations of the Exciton Coupling Elements Between the DNA Bases Using the Transition Density Cube Method

Excited states of the of the double-stranded DNA model (A)$_{12}\cdot$(T)_{12} were calculated in the framework of the exciton theory. The off-diagonal elements of the exciton matrix were calculated using the transition densities and ideal dipole approximation associated with the lowest energy $\pi\pi^{*}$ excitations of the individual nucleobases obtained from TDDFT calculations. The values of the coupling calculated with the transition density cubes (TDC) and ideal-dipole approximation (IDA) methods were found significantly different for the small inter-chromophore distances. It was shown that the IDA overestimates the coupling significantly. The effects of the structural fluctuations were incorporated by averaging the properties of the excited states over a large number of conformations obtained from the MD simulations