Role of coherence in transport through engineered atomic spin devices

Abstract: We give a further step in the quantum mechanical description of engineered atomic spin structures by deriving a master equation of the Redfield type that governs the dynamics of the atomic spin density matrix. By generalizing this approach to charge-specific density matrices, we are able to describe magnetic transport quantities, such as the average inelastic current and the shot noise, accessible by tunneling spectroscopy. Our method suitably describes moderate lead-atom coupling regimes where quantum coherence effects cannot be disregarded. We contrast our approach with the existing descriptions in terms of rate equations and show examples where coherence effects are crucial to understand the physics of spin-polarized tunnel current through spin structures.