Two-dimensional electronic double-quantum coherence spectroscopy

Excited state electronic landscape of mPlum revealed by two-dimensional double quantum coherence spectroscopy

Red fluorescent proteins (RFPs) are widely used probes for monitoring subcellular processes with extremely high spatial and temporal precision. In this work, we employed spectrally resolved transient absorption (SRTA) and two-dimensional double quantum coherence (2D2Q) spectroscopy to investigate the excited state electronic structure of mPlum, a well-known RFP. The SRTA spectra reveal the presence of excited state absorption features at both the low- and high-energy sides of the dominant ground state bleach contribution. The 2D2Q spectra measured at several excitation wavelengths reveal a peak pattern consistent with the presence of more than three electronic states (i.e., ground, excited, and doubly excited). Numerical modeling of this response suggests that the features are consistent with a 1-1-2 electronic structure. The two closely spaced (∼1500 cm(-1)) levels in the double quantum manifold appear at opposite anharmonicities relative to twice the energy of the lowest energy transition. These observations explain the excited state absorption contributions observed in spectrally resolved transient grating and transient absorption measurements and demonstrate the utility of multidimensional spectroscopy in unraveling congested spectra relative to conventional one-dimensional methods.

Exploring two-dimensional electron gases with two-dimensional Fourier transform spectroscopy

The dephasing of the Fermi edge singularity excitations in two modulation doped single quantum wells of 12 nm and 18 nm thickness and in-well carrier concentration of ∼4 × 10(11) cm(-2) was carefully measured using spectrally resolved four-wave mixing (FWM) and two-dimensional Fourier transform (2DFT) spectroscopy. Although the absorption at the Fermi edge is broad at this doping level, the spectrally resolved FWM shows narrow resonances. Two peaks are observed separated by the heavy hole/light hole energy splitting. Temperature dependent "rephasing" (S1) 2DFT spectra show a rapid linear increase of the homogeneous linewidth with temperature. The dephasing rate increases faster with temperature in the narrower 12 nm quantum well, likely due to an increased carrier-phonon scattering rate. The S1 2DFT spectra were measured using co-linear, cross-linear, and co-circular polarizations. Distinct 2DFT lineshapes were observed for co-linear and cross-linear polarizations, suggesting the existence of polarization dependent contributions. The "two-quantum coherence" (S3) 2DFT spectra for the 12 nm quantum well show a single peak for both co-linear and co-circular polarizations.

Double-core excitations in formamide can be probed by X-ray double-quantum-coherence spectroscopy

The attosecond, time-resolved X-ray double-quantum-coherence four-wave mixing signals of formamide at the nitrogen and oxygen K-edges are simulated using restricted excitation window time-dependent density functional theory and the excited core hole approximation. These signals, induced by core exciton coupling, are particularly sensitive to the level of treatment of electron correlation, thus providing direct experimental signatures of electron and core-hole many-body effects and a test of electronic structure theories.

Conformation and electronic population transfer in membrane-supported self-assembled porphyrin dimers by 2D fluorescence spectroscopy

Two-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy (2D FS) is applied to determine the conformation and femtosecond electronic population transfer in a dimer of magnesium meso tetraphenylporphyrin. The dimers are prepared by self-assembly of the monomer within the amphiphilic regions of 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine liposomes. A theoretical framework to describe 2D FS experiments is presented, and a direct comparison is made between the observables of this measurement and those of 2D electronic spectroscopy (2D ES). The sensitivity of the method to varying dimer conformation is explored. A global multivariable fitting analysis of linear and 2D FS data indicates that the dimer adopts a "bent T-shaped" conformation. Moreover, the manifold of singly excited excitons undergoes rapid electronic dephasing and downhill population transfer on the time scale of ∼95 fs. The open conformation of the dimer suggests that its self-assembly is favored by an increase in entropy of the local membrane environment.

Controlling the exciton fine structure splitting in CdSe/CdS dot-in-rod nanojunctions

We demonstrate control and tunability of the exciton fine-structure splitting by properly engineering a nanojunction consisting of a CdSe nanocrystal core and an asymmetric rod-like CdS shell. Samples with small core and/or thick rod diameters exhibit a strongly reduced fine-structure splitting resulting from a reduced electron-hole exchange interaction. These results shed light onto the electronic configuration of such nanosystems and, apart from being of fundamental interest, could enable the use of colloidal nanocrystals as a source of entangled photons.

Invited article: The coherent optical laser beam recombination technique (COLBERT) spectrometer: coherent multidimensional spectroscopy made easier

We have developed an efficient spectrometer capable of performing a wide variety of coherent multidimensional measurements at optical wavelengths. The two major components of the largely automated device are a spatial beam shaper which controls the beam geometry and a spatiotemporal pulse shaper which controls the temporal waveform of the femtosecond pulse in each beam. We describe how to construct, calibrate, and operate the device, and we discuss its limitations. We use the exciton states of a semiconductor nanostructure as a working example. A series of complex multidimensional spectra-displayed in amplitude and real parts-reveals increasingly intricate correlations among the excitons.

Two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy with double modulation lock-in detection: enhancement of sensitivity and noise resistance

In many potential applications of two-dimensional (2D) electronic spectroscopy the excitation energies per pulse are strictly limited, while the samples are strongly scattering. We demonstrate a technique, based on double-modulation of incident laser beams with mechanical choppers, which can be implemented in almost any non-collinear four wave mixing scheme including 2D spectroscopy setup. The technique virtually eliminates artifacts or "ghost" signals in 2D spectra, which arise due to scattering and accumulation of long-lived species. To illustrate the advantages of the technique, we show a comparison of porphyrin J-aggregate 2D spectra obtained with different methods following by discussion.

Measurement of Raman χ(3) and theoretical estimation of DOVE four wave mixing of hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide has strong infrared (IR) transitions ν(6) and its combination band ν(2)+ν(6), which may provide a unique opportunity to implement doubly vibrationally enhanced (DOVE) four wave mixing (FWM) for directly measuring hydrogen peroxide in spectrally overcrowded mixtures. In this work, the magnitude of the DOVE third-order susceptibility χ(3) was theoretically estimated. By using a FWM interferometric method, one of the strongest Raman bands, O-O stretch ν(3) Raman χ(3) of 30 wt % H(2)O(2), was first measured to be 1.2 × 10(-14) esu. The Raman χ(3) of ν(2) was then determined to be 5.3 × 10(-15) esu based on their relative Raman intensities. The resulting Raman χ(3) of ν(2) was used to calculate the DOVE χ(3) of (ν(6), ν(2)+ν(6)), together with the dipolar moments of the two IR transitions determined from IR absorption measurement. The calculated value of DOVE-IR χ(3) was 1.1 × 10(-13) esu for pure H(2)O(2), about 1.5 times larger than that of the strong ring breathing Raman band of benzene. The large DOVE χ(3) suggests the feasibility of direct measurement of hydrogen peroxide in an aqueous environment using DOVE four wave mixing.

Electronic Double-Quantum Coherences and Their Impact on Ultrafast Spectroscopy: The Example of β-Carotene

The energy level structure and dynamics of biomolecules are important for understanding their photoinduced function. In particular, the role of carotenoids in light-harvesting is heavily studied, yet not fully understood. The conventional approach to investigate these processes involves analysis of the third-order optical polarization in one spectral dimension. Here, we record two-dimensional correlation spectra for different time-orderings to characterize all components of the transient molecular polarization and the optical signal. Single- and double-quantum two-dimensional experiments provide insight into the energy level structure as well as the ultrafast dynamics of solvated β-carotene. By analysis of the lineshapes, we obtain the transition energy and characterize the potential energy surfaces of the involved states. We obtain direct experimental proof for an excited state absorption transition in the visible (S₂→S_n2). The signatures of this transition in pump-probe transients are shown to lead to strongly damped oscillations with characteristic pump and probe frequency dependence.

Ultrafast double-quantum-coherence spectroscopy of excitons with entangled photons

We calculate the four-wave-mixing signal of excitons generated at k(4) = k(1) + k(2) - k(3) by two pulsed entangled photon pairs (k(1), k(2))and(k(3), k(4)), where all four modes are chronologically ordered. Entangled photons offer an unusual combination of bandwidths and temporal resolution not possible by classical beams. Contributions from different resonances can be selected by varying the parameters of the photon wave function. The signal scales linearly rather than quadratically with the laser field intensity, which allows performance of the measurements at low powers.

Instantaneous mapping of coherently coupled electronic transitions and energy transfers in a photosynthetic complex using angle-resolved coherent optical wave-mixing

Understanding the role of coherent electronic motion is expected to resolve general questions of importance in macromolecular energy transfer. We demonstrate a novel nonlinear optical method, angle-resolved coherent wave mixing, that separates out coherently coupled electronic transitions and energy transfers in an instantaneous two-dimensional mapping. Angular resolution of the signal is achieved by using millimeter laser beam waists at the sample and by signal relay to the far field; for this we use a high energy, ultrabroadband hollow fiber laser source. We reveal quantum electronic beating with a time-ordered selection of transition energies in a photosynthetic complex.