arXiv subjects

Hoda Hossein-Nejad

Publications and source records attributed to Hoda Hossein-Nejad.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2017

On the perfomance of a photosystem II reaction centre-based photocell

The photosystem II reaction centre is the photosynthetic complex responsible for oxygen production on Earth. Its water splitting function is particularly favoured by the formation of a stable charge separated state via a pathway that starts at an accessory chlorophyll. Here we envision a photovoltaic device that places one of these complexes between electrodes and investigate how the mean current and its fluctuations depend on the microscopic interactions underlying charge separation in the pathway considered. Our results indicate that coupling to well resolved vibrational modes does not necessarily offer an advantage in terms of power output but can lead to photo-currents with suppressed noise levels characterizing a multi-step ordered transport process. Besides giving insight into the suitability of these complexes for molecular-scale photovoltaics, our work suggests a new possible biological function for the vibrational environment of photosynthetic reaction centres, namely, to reduce the intrinsic current noise for regulatory processes.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2015

Work, heat and entropy production in bipartite quantum systems

In bipartite quantum systems commutation relations between the Hamiltonian of each subsystem and the interaction impose fundamental constraints on the dynamics of each partition. Here we investigate work, heat and entropy production in bipartite systems characterized by particular commutators between their local Hamiltonians and the interaction operator. We consider the formalism of [Weimer, EPL, 83:30008, 2008], in which heat (work) is identified with energy changes that (do not) alter the local von Neumann entropy, as observed in an effective local measurement basis. We demonstrate the consequences of the commutation relations on the work and heat fluxes into each partition, and extend the formalism to open quantum systems where one, or both, partitions are subject to a Markovian thermal bath. We also discuss the relation between heat and entropy in bipartite quantum systems out of thermal equilibrium, and reconcile the aforementioned approach with the second law of thermodynamics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Dynamical transitions in Markovian exciton transport

The large deviation theory has recently been applied to open quantum systems to uncover dynamical crossovers in the space of quantum trajectories associated to Markovian evolutions. Such dynamical crossovers are characterized by qualitative changes in the fluctuations of rare quantum jump trajectories, and have been observed in the statistics of coherently driven quantum systems. In this article we investigate the counting statistics of rare quantum trajectories of an undriven system undergoing a pure relaxation process, namely, Markovian exciton transport. We find that dynamical crossovers occur in systems with a minimum of three interacting molecules, and are strongly activated by exciton delocalization and interference. Our results illustrate how quantum features of the underlying system Hamiltonian can influence the statistical properties of energy transfer processes in a non-trivial manner.

quant-ph↗