2006/12/08 by Chang-Qin Wu, Wu, Chang-Qin, Jian-Xin Li +3
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.cond-mat/0612202
Related experimental paper cond-mat/0612201
arxiv created 2006/12/08 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
We investigate photoisomerization (PI), the shape change of a molecule upon photoabsorption, in a dissipative environment using a simple spin-boson model. We identify two classes of environment depending on whether it "entangles" with the molecule. In the absence of entanglement, the environment merely causes a blue shift of the required photon frequency and reduces the quantum efficiency of PI. With entanglement the molecule can undergo a quantum phase transition between a state that photoisomerizes to a state that does not.