Decoherence dynamics of coherent electronic excited states in the photosynthetic purple bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides

Xian Ting Liang, Wei Min Zhang, Yi Zhong Zhuo

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14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this paper, we present a theoretical description to the quantum coherence and decoherence phenomena of energy transfer in photosynthesis observed in a recent experiment. As a successive two-color laser pulses with selected frequencies cast on a sample of the photosynthetic purple bacterium Rb. sphaeroides two resonant excitations of electrons in chromophores can be generated. However, this effective two-level subsystem will interact with its protein environment and decoherence is inevitable. We describe this subsystem coupled with its environment as a dynamical spin-boson model. The non-Markovian decoherence dynamics is described using a quasiadiabatic propagator path integral (QUAPI) approach. With the photon-induced effective time-dependent level splitting energy and level flip coupling coefficient between the two excited states and the environment-induced non-Markovian decoherence dynamics, our theoretical result is in good agreement with the experimental data.

Original languageEnglish
Article number011906
JournalPhysical Review E - Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
Volume81
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2010 Jan 13

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
  • Statistics and Probability
  • Condensed Matter Physics

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