Effect of Dephasing on Electron Transport in a Molecular Wire: Green's Function Approach

TL;DR

This paper investigates how dephasing affects electron transport in a benzene molecular wire using Green's function formalism, revealing significant spectral changes and new patterns in transmission and current-voltage behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a phenomenological dephasing model within a tight-binding Green's function framework to analyze molecular electron transport.

Findings

Dephasing significantly alters spectral properties.

Distinct effects observed in different molecular configurations.

New patterns in transmission and current-voltage characteristics.

Abstract

The effect of dephasing on electron transport through a benzene molecule is carefully examined using a phenomenological model introduced by B\"{u}ttiker. Within a tight-binding framework all the calculations are performed based on the Green's function formalism. We investigate the influence of dephasing on transmission probability and current-voltage characteristics for three different configurations ({\em ortho}, {\em meta} and {\em para}) of the molecular system depending on the locations of two contacting leads. The presence of dephasing provides a significant change in the spectral properties of the molecule and exhibits several interesting patterns that have so far remain unexplored.