A partial fraction decomposition of the Fermi function

A partial fraction decomposition of the Fermi function resulting in a finite sum over simple poles is proposed. This allows for efficient calculations involving the Fermi function in various contexts of electronic structure or electron transport theories. The proposed decomposition converges in a well-defined region faster than exponential and is thus superior to the standard Matsubara expansion.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Full Counting Statistics of a Non-adiabatic Electron Pump

Non-adiabatic charge pumping through a single-level quantum dot with periodically modulated parameters is studied theoretically. By means of a quantum-master-equation approach the full counting statistics of the system is obtained. We find a trinomial-probability distribution of the charge transfer, which adequately describes the reversal of the pumping current by sweeping the driving frequency. Further, we derive equations of motion for current and noise, and solve those numerically for two different driving schemes. Both show interesting features which can be fully analyzed due to the simple and generic model studied.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Attosecond resolved charging of clusters

Attosecond laser pulses open the door to resolve microscopic electron dynamics in time. Experiments performed include the decay of a core hole, the time-resolved measurement of photo ionization and electron tunneling. The processes investigated share the coherent character of the dynamics involving very few, ideally one active electron. Here, we introduce a scheme to probe dissipative multi-electron motion in time. In this context attosecond probing enables one to obtain information which is lost at later times and cannot be retrieved by conventional methods in the energy domain due to the incoherent nature of the dynamics. As a specific example we will discuss the charging of a rare-gas cluster during a strong femtosecond pulse with attosecond pulses. The example illustrates the proposed use of attosecond pulses and suggests an experimental resolution of a controversy about the mechanism of energy absorption by rare-gas clusters in strong vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) pulses.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Energy absorption of xenon clusters in helium nanodroplets under strong laser pulses

Energy absorption of xenon clusters embedded in helium nanodroplets from strong femtosecond laser pulses is studied theoretically. Compared to pure clusters we find earlier and more efficient energy absorption in agreement with experiments. This effect is due to resonant absorption of the helium nanoplasma whose formation is catalyzed by the xenon core. For very short double pulses with variable delay both plasma resonances, due to the helium shell and the xenon core, are identified and the experimental conditions are given which should allow for a simultaneous observation of both of them.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Floquet approach for dynamics in short and intense laser pulses

We present a two-timescale Floquet method that allows one to apply the Kramers-Henneberger approach to short pulses and arbitrary laser frequencies. An efficient numerical procedure to propagate the Floquet Hamiltonian is provided that relies on the Toeplitz matrix formalism and Fast Fourier Transformations. It enables efficient time propagation with large Floquet expansions, while still taking advantage of the cycle-averaged Kramers-Henneberger basis. Three illustrative cases of ionization with different photon energies are analyzed, where the envelope of a short and intense pulse is crucial to the underlying dynamics.Comment: 39 pages, 11 figure

Non-adiabatic Rectification and Current Reversal in Electron Pumps

Pumping of electrons through nano-scale devices is one of the fascinating achievements in the field of nano-science with a wide range of applications. To optimize the performance of pumps, operating them at high frequencies is mandatory. We consider the influence of fast periodic driving on the average charge transferred through a quantum dot. We show that it is possible to reverse the average current by sweeping the driving frequency only. In connection with this, we observe a rectification of the average current for high frequencies. Since both effects are very robust, as corroborated by analytical results for harmonic driving, they offer a new way of controlling electron pumps.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Prevailing features of X-ray induced molecular electron spectra revealed with fullerenes

Intense X-ray photo-absorption from short and intense pulses by a molecule triggers complicated electron and subsequently ion dynamics leading to photo-electron spectra which are difficult to interpret. Illuminating fullerenes offers a way to separate out the electron dynamics. Moreover, the fullerene cage confines spatially the origin of photo and Auger electrons. Together with the sequential nature of the photo processes at intensities available at X-ray free electron lasers, this allows for a remarkably detailed interpretation of the photo-electron spectra as we will demonstrate. The general features derived can serve as a paradigm for less well-defined situations in other large molecules or clusters.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure