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Maity S, Daskalakis V, Elstner M, Kleinekathöfer U. Multiscale QM/MM molecular dynamics simulations of the trimeric major light-harvesting complex II. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:7407-7417. [PMID: 33876100 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp01011e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Photosynthetic processes are driven by sunlight. Too little of it and the photosynthetic machinery cannot produce the reductive power to drive the anabolic pathways. Too much sunlight and the machinery can get damaged. In higher plants, the major Light-Harvesting Complex (LHCII) efficiently absorbs the light energy, but can also dissipate it when in excess (quenching). In order to study the dynamics related to the quenching process but also the exciton dynamics in general, one needs to accurately determine the so-called spectral density which describes the coupling between the relevant pigment modes and the environmental degrees of freedom. To this end, Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations in a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) fashion utilizing the density functional based tight binding (DFTB) method have been performed for the ground state dynamics. Subsequently, the time-dependent extension of the long-range-corrected DFTB scheme has been employed for the excited state calculations of the individual chlorophyll-a molecules in the LHCII complex. The analysis of this data resulted in spectral densities showing an astonishing agreement with the experimental counterpart in this rather large system. This consistency with an experimental observable also supports the accuracy, robustness, and reliability of the present multi-scale scheme. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first theoretical attempt on this large complex system is ever made to accurately simulate the spectral density. In addition, the resulting spectral densities and site energies were used to determine the exciton transfer rate within a special pigment pair consisting of a chlorophyll-a and a carotenoid molecule which is assumed to play a role in the balance between the light harvesting and quenching modes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayan Maity
- Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany.
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Quantum Photovoltaic Cells Driven by Photon Pulses. ENTROPY 2020; 22:e22060693. [PMID: 33286465 PMCID: PMC7517230 DOI: 10.3390/e22060693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2020] [Revised: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the quantum thermodynamics of two quantum systems, a two-level system and a four-level quantum photocell, each driven by photon pulses as a quantum heat engine. We set these systems to be in thermal contact only with a cold reservoir while the heat (energy) source, conventionally given from a hot thermal reservoir, is supplied by a sequence of photon pulses. The dynamics of each system is governed by a coherent interaction due to photon pulses in terms of the Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian together with the system-bath interaction described by the Lindblad master equation. We calculate the thermodynamic quantities for the two-level system and the quantum photocell including the change in system energy, the power delivered by photon pulses, the power output to an external load, the heat dissipated to a cold bath, and the entropy production. We thereby demonstrate how a quantum photocell in the cold bath can operate as a continuum quantum heat engine with a sequence of photon pulses continuously applied. We specifically introduce the power efficiency of the quantum photocell in terms of the ratio of output power delivered to an external load with current and voltage to the input power delivered by the photon pulse. Our study indicates a possibility that a quantum system driven by external fields can act as an efficient quantum heat engine under non-equilibrium thermodynamics.
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Maguire H, Iles-Smith J, Nazir A. Environmental Nonadditivity and Franck-Condon physics in Nonequilibrium Quantum Systems. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2019; 123:093601. [PMID: 31524488 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.123.093601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
We show that for a quantum system coupled to both vibrational and electromagnetic environments, enforcing additivity of their combined influences results in nonequilibrium dynamics that does not respect the Franck-Condon principle. We overcome this shortcoming by employing a collective coordinate representation of the vibrational environment, which permits the derivation of a nonadditive master equation. When applied to a two-level emitter our treatment predicts decreasing photon emission rates with increasing vibrational coupling, consistent with Franck-Condon physics. In contrast, the additive approximation predicts the emission rate to be completely insensitive to vibrations. We find that nonadditivity also plays a key role in the stationary nonequilibrium model behavior, enabling two-level population inversion under incoherent electromagnetic excitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henry Maguire
- Photon Science Institute & School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom
| | - Jake Iles-Smith
- Photon Science Institute & School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield, S3 7RH, United Kingdom
| | - Ahsan Nazir
- Photon Science Institute & School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom
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Brown WM, Gauger EM. Light Harvesting with Guide-Slide Superabsorbing Condensed-Matter Nanostructures. J Phys Chem Lett 2019; 10:4323-4329. [PMID: 31251067 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.9b01349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
We establish design principles for light-harvesting antennae whose energy capture scales superlinearly with system size. Controlling the absorber dipole orientations produces sets of "guide-slide" states that promote steady-state superabsorbing characteristics in noisy condensed-matter nanostructures. Inspired by natural photosynthetic complexes, we discuss the example of ringlike dipole arrangements and show that, in our setup, vibrational relaxation enhances rather than impedes performance. Remarkably, the superabsorption effect proves to be robust to O(5%) disorder simultaneously for all relevant system parameters, showing promise for experimental exploration across a broad range of platforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- W M Brown
- SUPA, Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences , Heriot-Watt University , EH14 4AS Edinburgh , United Kingdom
| | - E M Gauger
- SUPA, Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences , Heriot-Watt University , EH14 4AS Edinburgh , United Kingdom
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Marais A, Adams B, Ringsmuth AK, Ferretti M, Gruber JM, Hendrikx R, Schuld M, Smith SL, Sinayskiy I, Krüger TPJ, Petruccione F, van Grondelle R. The future of quantum biology. J R Soc Interface 2018; 15:20180640. [PMID: 30429265 PMCID: PMC6283985 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2018.0640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2018] [Accepted: 10/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Biological systems are dynamical, constantly exchanging energy and matter with the environment in order to maintain the non-equilibrium state synonymous with living. Developments in observational techniques have allowed us to study biological dynamics on increasingly small scales. Such studies have revealed evidence of quantum mechanical effects, which cannot be accounted for by classical physics, in a range of biological processes. Quantum biology is the study of such processes, and here we provide an outline of the current state of the field, as well as insights into future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Marais
- Quantum Research Group, School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4001, South Africa
| | - Betony Adams
- Quantum Research Group, School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4001, South Africa
| | - Andrew K Ringsmuth
- Institute for Lasers, Life and Biophotonics, Faculty of Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems, The University of Queensland, St Lucia 4072, Australia
| | - Marco Ferretti
- Institute for Lasers, Life and Biophotonics, Faculty of Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - J Michael Gruber
- Institute for Lasers, Life and Biophotonics, Faculty of Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ruud Hendrikx
- Institute for Lasers, Life and Biophotonics, Faculty of Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Maria Schuld
- Quantum Research Group, School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4001, South Africa
| | - Samuel L Smith
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ilya Sinayskiy
- Quantum Research Group, School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4001, South Africa
- National Institute for Theoretical Physics, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
| | - Tjaart P J Krüger
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
| | - Francesco Petruccione
- Quantum Research Group, School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4001, South Africa
- National Institute for Theoretical Physics, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
| | - Rienk van Grondelle
- Institute for Lasers, Life and Biophotonics, Faculty of Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Wertnik M, Chin A, Nori F, Lambert N. Optimizing co-operative multi-environment dynamics in a dark-state-enhanced photosynthetic heat engine. J Chem Phys 2018; 149:084112. [PMID: 30193490 DOI: 10.1063/1.5040898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We analyze the role of coherent, non-perturbative system-bath interactions in a photosynthetic heat engine. Using the reaction-coordinate formalism to describe the vibrational phonon-environment in the engine, we analyze the efficiency around an optimal parameter regime predicted in earlier studies. We show that, in the limit of high-temperature photon irradiation, the phonon-assisted population transfer between bright and dark states is suppressed due to dephasing from the photon environment, even in the Markov limit where we expect the influence of each bath to have an independent and additive effect on the dynamics. Manipulating the phonon bath properties via its spectral density enables us to identify both optimal low- and high-frequency regimes where the suppression can be removed. This suppression of transfer and its removal suggests that it is important to consider carefully the non-perturbative and cooperative effects of system-bath environments in designing artificial photosynthetic systems and also that manipulating inter-environmental interactions could provide a new multidimensional "lever" by which photocells and other types of quantum devices can be optimized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melina Wertnik
- Theoretical Quantum Physics Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Alex Chin
- Institut des NanoSciences de Paris, Sorbonne Université, 4 Place Jussieu, Bote Courrier 840, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - Franco Nori
- Theoretical Quantum Physics Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Neill Lambert
- Theoretical Quantum Physics Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
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Keren N, Paltiel Y. Photosynthetic Energy Transfer at the Quantum/Classical Border. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2018; 23:497-506. [PMID: 29625851 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2018.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2017] [Revised: 02/14/2018] [Accepted: 03/08/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Quantum mechanics diverges from the classical description of our world when very small scales or very fast processes are involved. Unlike classical mechanics, quantum effects cannot be easily related to our everyday experience and are often counterintuitive to us. Nevertheless, the dimensions and time scales of the photosynthetic energy transfer processes puts them close to the quantum/classical border, bringing them into the range of measurable quantum effects. Here we review recent advances in the field and suggest that photosynthetic processes can take advantage of the sensitivity of quantum effects to the environmental 'noise' as means of tuning exciton energy transfer efficiency. If true, this design principle could be a base for 'nontrivial' coherent wave property nano-devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nir Keren
- Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
| | - Yossi Paltiel
- Applied Physics Department, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
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van Eerden FJ, van den Berg T, Frederix PWJM, de Jong DH, Periole X, Marrink SJ. Molecular Dynamics of Photosystem II Embedded in the Thylakoid Membrane. J Phys Chem B 2016; 121:3237-3249. [PMID: 27624992 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b06865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Photosystem II (PSII) is one of the key protein complexes in photosynthesis. We introduce a coarse grained model of PSII and present the analysis of 60 μs molecular dynamics simulations of PSII in both monomeric and dimeric form, embedded in a thylakoid membrane model that reflects its native lipid composition. We describe in detail the setup of the protein complex and the many natural cofactors and characterize their mobility. Overall we find that the protein subunits and cofactors are more flexible toward the periphery of the complex as well as near the PLQ exchange cavity and at the dimer interface. Of all cofactors, β-carotenes show the highest mobility. Some of the β-carotenes diffuse in and out of the protein complex via the thylakoid membrane. In contrast with the PSII dimer, the monomeric form adopts a tilted conformation in the membrane, with strong interactions between the soluble PsbO subunit and the glycolipid headgroups. Interestingly, the tilted conformation causes buckling of the membrane. Together, our results provide an unprecedented view of PSII dynamics on a microsecond time scale. Our data may be used as basis for the interpretation of experimental data as well as for theoretical models describing exciton energy transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Floris J van Eerden
- Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute & Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen , Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Tom van den Berg
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculteit der Exacte Wetenschappen, Vrije Universiteit , De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Pim W J M Frederix
- Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute & Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen , Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Djurre H de Jong
- Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute & Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen , Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Xavier Periole
- Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute & Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen , Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Siewert J Marrink
- Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute & Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen , Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
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