An ignition key for atomic-scale engines
Abstract
A current-carrying resonant nanoscale device, simulated by non-adiabatic molecular dynamics, exhibits sharp activation of non-conservative current-induced forces with bias. The result, above the critical bias, is generalized rotational atomic motion with a large gain in kinetic energy. The activation exploits sharp features in the electronic structure, and constitutes, in effect, an ignition key for atomic-scale motors. A controlling factor for the effect is the non-equilibrium dynamical response matrix for small-amplitude atomic motion under current. This matrix can be found from the steady-state electronic structure by a simpler static calculation, providing a way to detect the likely appearance, or otherwise, of non-conservative dynamics, in advance of real-time modelling.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1209.1324,
title = {An ignition key for atomic-scale engines},
author = {Daniel Dundas and Brian Cunningham and Claire Buchanan and Asako Terasawa and Anthony T. Paxton and Tchavdar N. Todorov},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1209.1324},
year = {2012}
}