New approach to energy transfer and quantum correlations in a molecular dimer

Abstract

The dynamics of single-excitation energy transfer in a molecular dimer interacting with a phonon bath is studied. Although there are exact numerical solutions for this system, we propose an approach that provides exact analytical results with few electronic degrees of freedom. This approach is based on considering the phonon subsystem in the coherent state representation. Applying this approach, the long-lived coherence time is evaluated in the weak and strong coupling regimes. Moreover, by calculating the quantum entanglement and global quantum discord, the time evolution of quantum correlations is examined. The effects of two parameters, electronic coupling strength and bath temperature, on the energy transfer and quantum correlations are studied. It is shown, in agreement with previous results, that the long-lived coherence time in the weak coupling regime is longer than in the strong coupling regime. Also, the increasing bath temperature gives rise to faster delocalization of energy transfer. Furthermore, it is illustrated that the bath temperature has a significant effect on the quantum entanglement with respect to the global quantum discord. © 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd.