The role of non-equilibrium vibrational structures in electronic coherence and recoherence in pigment-protein complexes
The role of non-equilibrium vibrational structures in electronic coherence and recoherence in pigment-protein complexes
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DOI：
10.1038/nphys2515
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发表时间：
2013-02-01
期刊：
影响因子：
19.6
通讯作者：
Plenio, M. B.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Chin, A. W.;Prior, J.;Plenio, M. B.
最近对光合作用复合体光学响应中的振荡特征的观察揭示了令人惊讶的持久的电子相干的证据，这种相干可以与能量传输共存。这些观察激发了多学科对量子效应在生物系统中的作用的兴趣，包括电子相干如何在生物环境中生存的根本问题。在这里，我们展示了蛋白质波动的非平凡光谱结构可以产生非平衡过程，从而导致电子相干的自发产生和维持，即使在生理温度下也是如此。通过开发新的高级模拟工具来处理这些影响，我们提供了一个坚实的微观基础，以成功地重现在Fenna-Matthews-Olson复合体中实验观察到的相干时间，并说明了详细的量子建模和模拟如何能够进一步阐明在不同光合作用系统中可能重要的一系列其他非平衡过程。
Recent observations of oscillatory features in the optical response of photosynthetic complexes have revealed evidence for surprisingly long-lasting electronic coherences which can coexist with energy transport. These observations have ignited multidisciplinary interest in the role of quantum effects in biological systems, including the fundamental question of how electronic coherence can survive in biological surroundings. Here we show that the non-trivial spectral structures of protein fluctuations can generate non-equilibrium processes that lead to the spontaneous creation and sustenance of electronic coherence, even at physiological temperatures. Developing new advanced simulation tools to treat these effects, we provide a firm microscopic basis to successfully reproduce the experimentally observed coherence times in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex, and illustrate how detailed quantum modelling and simulation can shed further light on a wide range of other non-equilibrium processes which may be important in different photosynthetic systems.