DNA double helices for single molecule electronics

The combination of self-assembly and electronic properties as well as its true nanoscale dimensions make DNA a promising candidate for a building block of single molecule electronics. We argue that the intrinsic double helix conformation of the DNA strands provides a possibility to drive the electric current through the DNA by the perpendicular electric (gating) field. The transistor effect in the poly(G)-poly(C) synthetic DNA is demonstrated within a simple model approach. We put forward experimental setups to observe the predicted effect and discuss possible device applications of DNA. In particular, we propose a design of the single molecule analog of the Esaki diode.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figur

Structural fluctuations and quantum transport through DNA molecular wires: a combined molecular dynamics and model Hamiltonian approach

Charge transport through a short DNA oligomer (Dickerson dodecamer) in presence of structural fluctuations is investigated using a hybrid computational methodology based on a combination of quantum mechanical electronic structure calculations and classical molecular dynamics simulations with a model Hamiltonian approach. Based on a fragment orbital description, the DNA electronic structure can be coarse-grained in a very efficient way. The influence of dynamical fluctuations arising either from the solvent fluctuations or from base-pair vibrational modes can be taken into account in a straightforward way through time series of the effective DNA electronic parameters, evaluated at snapshots along the MD trajectory. We show that charge transport can be promoted through the coupling to solvent fluctuations, which gate the onsite energies along the DNA wire

Classical properties of low-dimensional conductors: Giant capacitance and non-Ohmic potential drop

Electrical field arising around an inhomogeneous conductor when an electrical current passes through it is not screened, as distinct from 3D conductors, in low-dimensional conductors. As a result, the electrical field depends on the global distribution of the conductivity sigma(x) rather than on the local value of it, inhomogeneities of sigma(x) produce giant capacitances C(omega) that show frequency dependence at relatively low omega, and electrical fields develop in vast regions around the inhomogeneities of sigma(x). A theory of these phenomena is presented for 2D conductors.Comment: 5 pages, two-column REVTeX, to be published in Physical Review Letter

Dissipative Effects in the Electronic Transport through DNA Molecular Wires

We investigate the influence of a dissipative environment which effectively comprises the effects of counterions and hydration shells, on the transport properties of short \DNA wires. Their electronic structure is captured by a tight-binding model which is embedded in a bath consisting of a collection of harmonic oscillators. Without coupling to the bath a temperature independent gap opens in the electronic spectrum. Upon allowing for electron-bath interaction the gap becomes temperature dependent. It increases with temperature in the weak-coupling limit to the bath degrees of freedom. In the strong-coupling regime a bath-induced {\it pseudo-gap} is formed. As a result, a crossover from tunneling to activated behavior in the low-voltage region of the $I$-$V$ characteristics is observed with increasing temperature. The temperature dependence of the transmission near the Fermi energy, $t(E_{\rm F})$, manifests an Arrhenius-like behavior in agreement with recent transport experiments. Moreover, $t(E_{\rm F})$ shows a weak exponential dependence on the wire length, typical of strong incoherent transport. Disorder effects smear the electronic bands, but do not appreciably affect the pseudo-gap formation

Quantum transport through a DNA wire in a dissipative environment

Electronic transport through DNA wires in the presence of a strong dissipative environment is investigated. We show that new bath-induced electronic states are formed within the bandgap. These states show up in the linear conductance spectrum as a temperature dependent background and lead to a crossover from tunneling to thermal activated behavior with increasing temperature. Depending on the strength of the electron-bath coupling, the conductance at the Fermi level can show a weak exponential or even an algebraic length dependence. Our results suggest a new environmental-induced transport mechanism. This might be relevant for the understanding of molecular conduction experiments in liquid solution, like those recently performed on poly(GC) oligomers in a water buffer (B. Xu et al., Nano Lett 4, 1105 (2004)).Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Predicting Postprobationary Job Performance of Police Officers Using CPI and MMPI–2–RF Test Data Obtained During Preemployment Psychological Screening

We examined associations between prehire California Psychological Inventory (CPI) and prorated Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 Restructured Form (MMPI–2–RF) scores (calculated from MMPI profiles) and supervisor ratings for a sample of 143 male police officers. Substantive scale scores in this sample were meaningfully lower than those obtained by the tests’ normative samples in the case of the MMPI–2–RF and meaningfully higher in the case of the CPI (indicating less psychological dysfunction). Test scores from both instruments showed substantial range restriction, consistent with those produced by members of the police candidate comparison groups (Corey & Ben-Porath, 2014Corey, D. M., & Ben-Porath, Y. S. (2014). User\u27s guide for the MMPI-2-RF Police Candidate Interpretive Report. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. [Google Scholar]; Roberts & Johnson, 2001Roberts, M. D., & Johnson, M. (2001). CPI: Police and public safety selection report technical manual. Unpublished manuscript. Retrieved fromhttp://media.post.ca.gov/. [Google Scholar]). After applying a statistical correction for range restriction, we found a number of meaningful associations between both CPI and MMPI–2–RF substantive scale scores and supervisor ratings. For the MMPI–2–RF, findings for scales from the emotional dysfunction and interpersonal functioning domains of the test were particularly strong. For the CPI, findings for scales indicating conformity with social norms, integrity, and tolerance were strong, as were the findings for an index indicating risk of termination. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that MMPI–2–RF and CPI scores complement each other, accounting for incremental variance in the prediction of job-related variables over and above each other. Implications of these findings for assessment science and practice are discussed

Localization Properties of Electronic States in Polaron Model of poly(dG)-poly(dC) and poly(dA)-poly(dT) DNA polymers

We numerically investigate localization properties of electronic states in a static model of poly(dG)-poly(dC) and poly(dA)-poly(dT) DNA polymers with realistic parameters obtained by quantum-chemical calculation. The randomness in the on-site energies caused by the electron-phonon coupling are completely correlated to the off-diagonal parts. In the single electron model, the effect of the hydrogen-bond stretchings, the twist angles between the base pairs and the finite system size effects on the energy dependence of the localization length and on the Lyapunov exponent are given. The localization length is reduced by the influence of the fluctuations in the hydrogen bond stretchings. It is also shown that the helical twist angle affects the localization length in the poly(dG)-poly(dC) DNA polymer more strongly than in the poly(dA)-poly(dT) one. Furthermore, we show resonance structures in the energy dependence of the localization length when the system size is relatively small.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Complex microwave conductivity of Na-DNA powders

We report the complex microwave conductivity, $\sigma=\sigma_1-i\sigma_2$, of Na-DNA powders, which was measured from 80 K to 300 K by using a microwave cavity perturbation technique. We found that the magnitude of $\sigma_1$ near room temperature was much larger than the contribution of the surrounding water molecules, and that the decrease of $\sigma_1$ with decreasing temperature was sufficiently stronger than that of the conduction of counterions. These results clearly suggest that the electrical conduction of Na-DNA is intrinsically semiconductive.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

Vibrational Enhancement of the Effective Donor - Acceptor Coupling

The paper deals with a simple three sites model for charge transfer phenomena in an one-dimensional donor (D) - bridge (B) - acceptor (A) system coupled with vibrational dynamics of the B site. It is found that in a certain range of parameters the vibrational coupling leads to an enhancement of the effective donor - acceptor electronic coupling as a result of the formation of the polaron on the B site. This enhancement of the charge transfer efficiency is maximum at the resonance, where the effective energy of the fluctuating B site coincides with the donor (acceptor) energy.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure