Electron wave packet dynamics in twisted nonlinear ladders with correlated disorder

Within a tight-binding Hamiltonian approach, we study the dynamics of one-electron wave packets in a twisted ladder geometry with adiabatic electron–phonon interaction. The electron–phonon coupling is taken into account in the time-dependent Schrödinger equation through a cubic nonlinearity. This physical scenario incorporates several relevant ingredients to study the electronic wave packet dynamics in DNA-like segments. In the absence of nonlinearity, a random sequence of nucleotides pairs makes the wave packets remain localized, according to the standard picture of the Anderson localization. However, when the electron–phonon interaction is turned on, Anderson localization is suppressed and a subdiffusive regime takes place. Further, we show that the wave packet trapping can be controlled by an external field perpendicular to the helicity axis of the double-strand chain.