Nonequilibrium Quantum Transport, - what's the problem?
Inaugural lecture by Jens Paaske, Niels Bohr Institute and Nano-Science Center.
Abstract
An exciting merger between chemistry and physics at the nanometer scale
is currently taking place, and massive efforts are being invested in
the invention of electronic components comprised by a single molecule
contacted by metallic wires.
From a technological perspective, the prospect of smaller and cheaper
electronic devices is obviously interesting, and from a chemistry
perspective this effort will in many ways realize a long-standing dream
of doing spectroscopy of a single molecule. From the physics
perspective, however, one may well ask if this quest will reward us
with much more than a confirmation of Ohm's law? After all, we
understand molecules and we understand metallic wires, so what is
indeed the problem?
In this lecture, I will outline some of the surprisingly complex
physics which emerges when assembling wires and molecule, and answer
parts of the seemingly benign physics problem: How do electrons
traverse a region of roughly nano-meter extent?