Optimal Initialization of a Quantum System for an Efficient Coherent Energy Transfer^†

For an energy transfer network, the irreversible depletion of excited electron energy occurs through either an efficient flow into an outer energy sink or an inefficient decay. With a small decay rate, the energy transfer efficiency is quantitatively reflected by the average life time of excitation energy before being trapped in the sink where the decay process is omitted. In the weak dissipation regime, the trapping time is analyzed within the exciton population subspace based on the secular Redfield equation. The requirement of the noise-enhanced energy transfer is obtained, where the trapping time follows an exact or approximate 1/Γ-scaling of the dissipation strength Γ. On the opposite side, optimal initial system states are conceptually constructed to suppress the 1/Γ-scaling of the trapping time and maximize the coherent transfer efficiency. Our theory is numerically testified in four models, including a biased two-site system, a symmetric three-site branching system, a homogeneous onedimensional chain, and an 8-chromophore FMO protein complex.