Quantum thermodynamics of nonadiabatically driven systems: The effect of electron-phonon interaction

Abstract: In this work we study the effects of nonadiabatic external driving on the thermodynamics of an electronic system coupled to two electronic leads and to a phonon mode, with and without damping. In the limit of slow driving, we establish nonadiabatic corrections to quantum thermodynamic quantities. In particular, we study the first-order correction to the electronic population, charge-current, and vibrational excitation using a perturbative expansion, and compare the results to the numerically exact hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM) approach. Furthermore, the HEOM analysis spans both the weak and strong system-bath coupling regime and the slow and fast driving limits. We show that the electronic friction and the nonadiabatic corrections to the charge-current provide a clear indicator for the Franck-Condon effect and for non-resonant tunneling processes. We also discuss the validity of the approximate quantum master equation approach and the benefits of using HEOM to study quantum thermodynamics out of equilibrium.