We analyze various limits of vibrationally coupled resonant electron transport in single-molecule junctions. Based on a master equation approach, we discuss analytic and numerical results for junctions under a high bias voltage or weak electronic-vibrational coupling. It is shown that in these limits the vibrational excitation of the molecular bridge increases indefinitely, i.e. the junction exhibits a vibrational instability. Moreover, our analysis provides analytic results for the vibrational distribution function and reveals that these vibrational instabilities are related to electron-hole pair creation processes.
@article{arxiv.1102.0840,
title = {Vibrational Instabilities in Resonant Electron Transport through Single-Molecule Junctions},
author = {R. Härtle and M. Thoss},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1102.0840},
year = {2015}
}