https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2009-00220-6
Insulator-metal transition in biased finite polyyne systems
CNR–IMM, Z.I. VIII Strada 5, 95121 Catania, Italy
Corresponding author: a antonino.lamagna@imm.cnr.it
Received:
30
January
2009
Published online:
26
June
2009
A method for the study of the electronic transport in strongly coupled electron-phonon systems is formalized and applied to a model of polyyne chains biased through metallic Au leads. We derive a stationary non equilibrium polaronic theory in the general framework of a variational formulation. The numerical procedure we propose can be readily applied if the electron-phonon interaction in the device hamiltonian can be approximated as an effective single particle electron hamiltonian. Using this approach, we predict that finite polyyne chains should manifest an insulator-metal transition driven by the non-equilibrium charging which inhibits the Peierls instability characterizing the equilibrium state.
PACS: 63.22.-m – Phonons or vibrational states in low-dimensional structures and nanoscale materials / 64.70.Nd – Structural transitions in nanoscale materials / 73.63.-b – Electronic transport in nanoscale materials and structures
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 2009
