Quantum Transport on Disordered and Noisy Networks: An Interplay of Structural Complexity and Uncertainty

Abstract

We discuss recent research on quantum transport in complex materials, from photosynthetic light-harvesting complexes to photonic circuits. We identify finite, disordered networks as the underlying backbone and as a versatile framework to gain insight into the specific potential of nontrivial quantum dynamical effects to characterize and control transport on complex structures. We discriminate authentic quantum properties from classical aspects of complexity and briefly address the impact of interactions, nonlinearities, and noise. We stress the relevance of what we call the nonasymptotic realm, physical situations in which neither the relevant time- and length-scales, the number of degrees of freedom, or constituents tend to very small or very large values, nor do global symmetries or disorder fully govern the dynamics. Although largely uncharted territory, we argue that novel, intriguing and nontrivial questions for experimental and theoretical work emerge, with the prospect of a unified understanding of complex quantum transport phenomena in diverse physical settings.