Inhomogeneous dephasing masks coherence lifetimes in ensemble measurements

An open question at the forefront of modern physical sciences is what role, if any, quantum effects may play in biological sensing and energy transport mechanisms. One area of such research concerns the possibility of coherent energy transport in photosynthetic systems. Spectroscopic evidence of long-lived quantum coherence in photosynthetic light-harvesting pigment protein complexes (PPCs), along with theoretical modeling of PPCs, has indicated that coherent energy transport might boost efficiency of energy transport in photosynthesis. Accurate assessment of coherence lifetimes is crucial for modeling the extent to which quantum effects participate in this energy transfer, because such quantum effects can only contribute to mechanisms proceeding on timescales over which the coherences persist. While spectroscopy is a useful way to measure coherence lifetimes, inhomogeneity in the transition energies across the measured ensemble may lead to underestimation of coherence lifetimes from spectroscopic experiments. Theoretical models of antenna complexes generally model a single system, and direct comparison of single system models to ensemble averaged experimental data may lead to systematic underestimation of coherence lifetimes, distorting much of the current discussion. In this study, we use simulations of the Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex to model single complexes as well as averaged ensembles to demonstrate and roughly quantify the effect of averaging over an inhomogeneous ensemble on measured coherence lifetimes. We choose to model the Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex because that system has been a focus for much of the recent discussion of quantum effects in biology, and use an early version of the well known environment-assisted quantum transport model to facilitate straightforward comparison between the current model and past work. Although ensemble inhomogeneity is known to lead to shorter lifetimes of observed oscillations (simply inhomogeneous spectral broadening in the time domain), this important fact has been left out of recent discussions of spectroscopic measurements of energy transport in photosynthesis. In general, these discussions have compared single-system theoretical models to whole-ensemble laboratory measurements without addressing the effect of inhomogeneous dephasing. Our work addresses this distinction between single system and ensemble averaged observations, and shows that the ensemble averaging inherent in many experiments leads to an underestimation of coherence lifetimes in individual systems.     

Theoretical determination of electronic lifetimes in metals

For a variety of different fields in condensed matter physics it is important to understand the dynamics of excited electrons of bulk and surface states. In this article the results of first-principles computations for the lifetime of excited electrons in various metals are presented. In addition to crystalline systems also calculations of the electronic lifetimes in surface states of these materials are discussed. Preceding is a section in which the general theory is presented needed to calculate the lifetime of excited one-particle states. The method of choice is many-body perturbation theory using the GW approximation for the electronic self-energy. The key equations are summarized and a physical interpretation is given. This part is supplemented by the appendix in which the equations actually used in the calculations are presented in more detail.     

Negative electron affinities from conventional electronic structure methods

If the potential V describing the interaction between an excess electron and a ground-state neutral or anionic parent is sufficiently attractive at short range, electron-attached states having positive electron affinities (EAs) can arise. Even if the potential is not attractive enough to produce a bound state, metastable electron-attached states may still occur and have lifetimes long enough to give rise to experimentally detectable signatures. Low-energy metastable states arise when the attractive components of V combine with a longer-range repulsive contribution to produce a barrier behind which the excess electron can be temporarily trapped. These repulsive contributions arise from either the centrifugal potential in the excess electron’s angular kinetic energy or long-range Coulomb repulsion in the case of an anionic parent. When there is no barrier, this kind of low-energy metastable state does not arise, but improper theoretical calculations can lead to erroneous predictions of their existence. Conventional electronic structure methods with, at most, minor modifications are described for properly characterizing metastable states and for avoiding incorrectly predicting the existence of metastable states with negative EAs where no barrier is present.     

Fluorescence-detected two-dimensional electronic coherence spectroscopy by acousto-optic phase modulation

Two-dimensional electronic coherence spectroscopy (ECS) is an important method to study the coupling between distinct optical modes of a material system. Such studies often involve excitation using a sequence of phased ultrashort laser pulses. In conventional approaches, the delays between pulse temporal envelopes must be precisely monitored or maintained. Here, we introduce a new experimental scheme for phase-selective nonlinear ECS, which combines acousto-optic phase modulation with ultrashort laser excitation to produce intensity modulated nonlinear fluorescence signals. We isolate specific nonlinear signal contributions by synchronous detection, with respect to appropriately constructed references. Our method effectively decouples the relative temporal phases from the pulse envelopes of a collinear train of four sequential pulses. We thus achieve a robust and high signal-to-noise scheme for phase-selective ECS to investigate the resonant nonlinear optical response of photoluminescent systems. We demonstrate the validity of our method using a model quantum three-level system-atomic Rb vapor. Moreover, we show how our measurements determine the resonant complex-valued third-order susceptibility.     

Theoretical and experimental studies of radiative lifetimes of excited electronic states in CO

The electronic dipole transition moment functions of the A ²Π-X ²Σ⁺, B ²Σ⁺-X ²Σ⁺ and B ²Σ⁺-A ²Π transitions and the dipole moment function of the X ²Σ⁺ state of CO⁺ have been calculated using large contracted CI wavefunctions. The computed transition moment functions together with experimental potential energy curves were used to obtain radiative lifetimes of the excited electronic states B ²Σ⁺ and A ²Π. Radiative lifetimes of vibrational levels of the X ²Σ⁺ state were derived from the calculated dipole moment function. The high-frequency deflection technique was used to obtain radiative lifetimes of the ν′ = 0, 1,2 and 3 vibrational levels of the B ²Σ⁺ state and also radiative lifetimes of individual rotational levels of ν′ =0. The calculated radiative lifetimes are shorter than the measured ones by about 10%. The experimental ν′ dependence is reproduced by theoretical calculation. The calculated radiative lifetimes for the A ²Π state are in excellent agreement with lifetimes measured with an ion trap technique.     

Relativistic electronic structure theory

The theoretical and technical foundations are presented for the efficient relativistic electronic structure theories to treat heavy-atomic molecular systems. This review contains two surveys of four-component and two-component quasi-relativistic approaches. First, we review our highly efficient computational scheme for four-component relativistic ab initio molecular orbital (MO) methods over generally contracted spherical harmonic Gaussian-type spinors (GTSs). Illustrative calculations, which are performed with a new four-component relativistic ab initio molecular orbital program package REL4D, clearly show the efficiency of our computational scheme by the Dirac-Hartree-Fock (DHF) and Dirac-Hartree-Fock (DKS) methods. Next, in the two-component quasi-relativistic framework, two relativistic Hamiltonians, RESC and higher order Douglas-Kroll (DK) Hamiltonians, are introduced, and several illustrative calculations are shown. Numerical results for several systems show that good accuracy can be obtained with our third-order DK (DK3) Hamiltonian.     

Real‐time feedback from iterative electronic structure calculations

Real‐time feedback from iterative electronic structure calculations requires to mediate between the inherently unpredictable execution times of the iterative algorithm used and the necessity to provide data in fixed and short time intervals for real‐time rendering. We introduce the concept of a mediator as a component able to deal with infrequent and unpredictable reference data to generate reliable feedback. In the context of real‐time quantum chemistry, the mediator takes the form of a surrogate potential that has the same local shape as the first‐principles potential and can be evaluated efficiently to deliver atomic forces as real‐time feedback. The surrogate potential is updated continuously by electronic structure calculations and guarantees to provide a reliable response to the operator for any molecular structure. To demonstrate the application of iterative electronic structure methods in real‐time reactivity exploration, we implement self‐consistent semiempirical methods as the data source and apply the surrogate‐potential mediator to deliver reliable real‐time feedback. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The electronic spectrum and electronic structure of 1,5 dinitronaphthialene

The electronic absorption spectra of the n-heptane and ethanol solutions and the polarized absorption spectrum of the single crystal were measured with 1,5-dinitronaphthalene. 1,5-Dinitronaphthalene shows three absorption bands at 198.7, 230 and 323 m. The 230 m and 323 m. bands are polarized almost parallel with the long and short axes of the naphthalene ring respectively. The assignment of the bands has been made by combining the observed results with the theoretical consideration.

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Zusammenfassung Das UV-Absorptionsspektrum von 1,5-Dinitronaphthalin in Lösung von n-Heptan und Äthanol und das Polarisationsabsorptionsspektrum des Einkristalls wurde aufgenommen. Es zeigt drei Banden bei 198,7, 230 und 323 m, wobei die Polarisationsrichtungen der beiden letzteren nahezu parallel zur langen und kurzen Achse des Naphthalinringes liegen. Die Zuordnung der Banden wurde auf Grund einer Kombination experimenteller und theoretischer Gegebenheiten vorgenommen.

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Résumé Le spectre électronique d'absorption du 1,5-dinitronaphthalène a été mesuré dans l'éthanol, le n-heptane et dans le monocristal. Des bandes à 198,7, 230 et 323 m la deuxième (troisième) est polarisée presque parallèle à l'axe longue (courte) du noyau naphthalénique. La comparison aux résultats théoriques permet l'interprétation des bandes.

     

Adhesion from tethered ligand-receptor bonds with microsecond lifetimes

According to classical thermodynamics, biological ligand-receptor bonds should have a median lifetime of about 2 ms, and nearly half should have lifetimes of nanoseconds to microseconds. As a result, it is clear that many "weak" bonds are indispensable for cellular adhesion, signaling, and other critical events. However, the forces required to rupture such weak bonds and the adhesion they provide between surfaces are largely unknown because of their propensity to dissociate rapidly from a measuring probe. To measure such weak bond forces quantitatively, we followed nature's example of adhering surfaces with many weak ligand-receptor bonds. Analogously to how multiplicity promotes stronger adhesion between cellular membranes, multiple bonds created significant adhesion between model cellular surfaces. Specifically, we used an automated surface forces apparatus to measure the adhesion between complementary surfaces bearing dense populations of streptavidin receptors and flexible PEG tethers that each anchored a weakly binding ligand (HABA, or 2-(4-hydroxyphenylazo) benzoic acid). We show that this short-lived bond (<100 mus) leads to low forces of dissociation and only a small fraction being simultaneously bound. These results are significant because the HABA-streptavidin bond energy ( approximately 10.5kBT) is similar to the average found in nature (14.7kBT). The measurements exemplify how a single ligand-receptor bond may fall apart and rejoin many times before completing a cellular function yet can still exhibit strength in numbers.     

Halogen versus halide electronic structure

Halide anions X-are known to show a decreasing proton affinity(PA),as X descends in the periodic table along series F,Cl,Br and I.But it is also well-known that,along this series,the halogen atom X becomes less electronegative(or more electropositive).This corresponds to an increasing energy of the valence np atomic orbital(AO) which,somewhat contradictorily,suggests that the electron donor capability and thus the PA of the halides should increase along the series F,Cl,Br,I.To reconcile these contradictory ...     

Wavelets for electronic structure calculations

Molecular electronic structure calculations have a multi‐scale character through the presence of a set of singularities corresponding to atomic nuclei, and thus there exists a potential to improve the efficiency of these calculations using fast wavelet transform techniques. We report on the development of a one dimensional prototype benchmark problem of sufficient complexity to capture the features of 3‐D problems that are being solved today in quantum electronics calculations. Theoretical estimates of decay across scales and spatial distribution of wavelet coefficients for the solutions of the 1‐D and 3‐D problems are derived and verified experimentally. Equivalence in a multi‐resolution context of the solutions of the 1‐D prototype and the 3‐D problem is established. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The electronic structure of naphthalene

Electronic energy levels of naphthalene were calculated by semi-empirical ASMO-CI method including a part of doubly excited configurations as well as all singly excited configurations. The result obtained seems to indicate that with respect to the amount of the mixing of CI to be invoked it is sufficient to take into account all singly excited configurations only.The interpretation of spectra was also discussed.

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Zusammenfassung Die Energieniveaus der Elektronen im Naphthalin-Molekül wurden mittels einer halbempirischen ASMO-CI-Methode unter Einschluß einer Reihe von einfach und doppelt angeregten Zuständen berechnet. Dabei zeigt sich, daß es wahrscheinlich genügt, nur einfach angeregte Zustände in die Rechnung einzubeziehen.

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Résumé Les états énergétiques du naphthaléne ont été calculés par une méthode ASMO-CI semiempirique où une partie des configurations diexcitées et toutes les configurations monoexcitées ont été inclues. Le résultat indique qu'il suffit de ne tenir compte que des configurations monoexcitées. Les spectres sont discutés.

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One of us (H. I.) wishes to express his thanks to Professor K. Suzuki for encouragement throughout this work.