Insights into photosynthetic energy transfer gained from free-energy structure: Coherent transport, incoherent hopping, and vibrational assistance revisited

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2011.00489v1
• Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2020 12:51:13 GMT
• Title: Insights into photosynthetic energy transfer gained from free-energy structure: Coherent transport, incoherent hopping, and vibrational assistance revisited
• Authors: Akihito Ishizaki and Graham R. Fleming
• Abstract summary: We revisit the elementary aspects of environment-induced fluctuations in the involved electronic energies. We present a simple way to understand energy flow with the intuitive picture of relaxation in a funnel-type free-energy landscape.
• Score: 0.0
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: Giant strides in ultrashort laser pulse technology have enabled real-time observation of dynamical processes in complex molecular systems. Specifically, the discovery of oscillatory transients in the two-dimensional electronic spectra of photosynthetic systems stimulated a number of theoretical investigations exploring possible physical mechanisms of the remarkable quantum efficiency of light harvesting processes. However, the theories employed have reached a high degree of sophistication and have become complex, making it difficult to gain insights into microscopic processes and biologically significant questions. In this work, we revisit the elementary aspects of environment-induced fluctuations in the involved electronic energies and present a simple way to understand energy flow with the intuitive picture of relaxation in a funnel-type free-energy landscape. The presented free-energy description of energy transfer reveals that typical photosynthetic systems operate in an almost barrierless regime. The approach also provides insights into the distinction between coherent and incoherent energy transfer and criteria by which the necessity of the vibrational assistance is considered.

Related papers

• Open quantum system simulation of time and frequency resolved spectroscopy [0.0]
  The dynamics of excitonic energy transfer in molecular complexes triggered by interaction with laser pulses offers a unique window into the underlying physical processes. The efficiency and time-scale depend not only on the excitonic couplings, but are also affected by the dissipation of energy to vibrational modes of the molecules.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-03-15T10:53:09Z)
• Examining the quantum signatures of optimal excitation energy transfer [0.0]
  We study the influence of coherence, entanglement, and cooperative dissipation on the transport and capture of excitation energy. We show that the rate of energy extraction is optimized under conditions that minimize the quantum coherence and entanglement of the system.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-02-29T19:00:02Z)
• Simulating Photosynthetic Energy Transport on a Photonic Network [21.611606790572353]
  Quantum effects in photosynthetic energy transport in nature are extensively studied in quantum biology. We show our photonic model well interprets the issues including the reorganization energy, vibrational assistance, exciton transfer and energy localization. We further experimentally demonstrate the existence of an optimal transport efficiency at certain dephasing strength.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-11-03T16:30:12Z)
• From Goldilocks to Twin Peaks: multiple optimal regimes for quantum transport in disordered networks [68.8204255655161]
  Open quantum systems theory has been successfully applied to predict the existence of environmental noise-assisted quantum transport. This paper shows that a consistent subset of physically modelled transport networks can have at least two ENAQT peaks in their steady state transport efficiency.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-10-21T10:57:16Z)
• Probing the symmetry breaking of a light--matter system by an ancillary qubit [50.591267188664666]
  Hybrid quantum systems in the ultrastrong, and even more in the deep-strong, coupling regimes can exhibit exotic physical phenomena. We experimentally observe the parity symmetry breaking of an ancillary Xmon artificial atom induced by the field of a lumped-element superconducting resonator. This result opens a way to experimentally explore the novel quantum-vacuum effects emerging in the deep-strong coupling regime.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-09-13T06:14:08Z)
• Formation of robust bound states of interacting microwave photons [148.37607455646454]
  One of the hallmarks of interacting systems is the formation of multi-particle bound states. We develop a high fidelity parameterizable fSim gate that implements the periodic quantum circuit of the spin-1/2 XXZ model. By placing microwave photons in adjacent qubit sites, we study the propagation of these excitations and observe their bound nature for up to 5 photons.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-06-10T17:52:29Z)
• From Non-Markovian Dissipation to Spatiotemporal Control of Quantum Nanodevices [0.0]
  We study how energy dissipated into the environment can be remotely harvested to create transient excited/reactive states. We also identify how reorganisation triggered by system excitation can qualitatively and reversibly alter the downstream' kinetics of a functional' quantum system.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-05-20T10:46:04Z)
• Driving Force and Nonequilibrium Vibronic Dynamics in Charge Separation of Strongly Bound Electron-Hole Pairs [59.94347858883343]
  We study the dynamics of charge separation in one, two and three-dimensional donor-acceptor networks. This allows us to identify the precise conditions in which underdamped vibrational motion induces efficient long-range charge separation.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-05-11T17:51:21Z)
• Visualizing spinon Fermi surfaces with time-dependent spectroscopy [62.997667081978825]
  We propose applying time-dependent photo-emission spectroscopy, an established tool in solid state systems, in cold atom quantum simulators. We show in exact diagonalization simulations of the one-dimensional $t-J$ model that the spinons start to populate previously unoccupied states in an effective band structure. The dependence of the spectral function on the time after the pump pulse reveals collective interactions among spinons.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-05-27T18:00:02Z)
• Time-resolved Interparticle Coulombic Decay spectra including nuclear degrees of freedom [49.1574468325115]
  We explore the ultra-rapid electronic motion spanning attoseconds to femtoseconds, demonstrating that it is equally integral and relevant to the discipline. The advent of ultrashort attosecond pulse technology has revolutionized our ability to directly observe electronic rearrangements in atoms and molecules.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-02-10T16:51:48Z)
• The role of the multiple excitation manifold in a driven quantum simulator of an antenna complex [0.0]
  Biomolecular light-harvesting antennas operate as nanoscale devices in a regime where the coherent interactions of individual light, matter and vibrational quanta are non-perturbatively strong. Non-perturbative dynamics are computationally challenging to simulate. Experiments on biomaterials explore very limited regions of the non-perturbative parameter space.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2020-07-27T14:38:59Z)

This list is automatically generated from the titles and abstracts of the papers in this site.

This site does not guarantee the quality of this site (including all information) and is not responsible for any consequences.