Quantum electrodynamics of resonance energy transfer in nanowire systems

Nonradiative resonance energy transfer (RET) provides the ability to transfer excitation energy between contiguous nanowires (NWs) with high efficiency under certain conditions. Nevertheless, the well-established Förster formalism commonly used to represent RET was developed for energy transfer primarily between molecular blocks (i.e., from one molecule, or part of a molecule, to another). Although deviations from Förster theory for functional blocks such as NWs have been studied previously, the role of the relative distance, the orientation of transition dipole moment pairs, and the passively interacting matter on electronic energy transfer are to a large extent unknown. Thus, a comprehensive theory that models RET in NWs is required. In this context, analytical insights to give a deeper and more intuitive understanding of the distance and orientation dependence of RET in NWs is presented within the framework of quantum electrodynamics. Additionally, the influence of an included intermediary on the rate of excitation energy transfer is illustrated, embracing indirect energy transfer rate and quantum interference. The results deliver equations that afford new intuitions into the behavior of virtual photons. In particular, results indicate that RET efficiency in a NW system can be explicitly expedited or inhibited by a neighboring mediator, depending on the relative spacing and orientation of NWs.