Avoiding dark states in open quantum systems by tailored initial correlations

Abstract

We study the transport of excitations on a V-shaped network of three coupled two-level systems that are subjected to an environment that induces incoherent hopping between the nodes. Two of the nodes are coupled to a source while the third node is coupled to a drain. A common feature of these networks is the existence of a dark-state that blocks the transport to the drain. Here we propose a means to avoid this state by a suitable choice of initial correlations, induced by a source that is common to both coupled nodes.