How Static Disorder Mimics Decoherence in Anisotropy Pump-Probe Experiments on Purple-Bacteria Light Harvesting Complexes

Clem Stross, Marc Van der Kamp, Thomas A A Oliver, Jeremy Harvey, Noah Linden, Fred Manby

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)
311 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Anisotropy pump-probe experiments have provided insights into the character of excitons formed in photosynthetic complexes. Rapid decay in the observed anisotropy is cited as evidence of the strength of coupling of the excitonic degrees of freedom to their environment. Here we show that ensemble averaging over realistic model Hamiltonians leads to a rapid decay of anisotropy to a value close to the observed asymptote, and at a rate comparable to observed decay rates, even in the absence of coupling to the environment. While coupling to the environment will clearly play a role in the dynamics of such systems, our calculations suggest that caution is needed in deducing the strength of this coupling from anisotropy experiments. We also set out to clarify the nature quantum states and processes involved in the dynamics of such systems, and the associated terminology.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)11449-11463
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry B
Volume120
Issue number44
Early online date11 Oct 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Nov 2016

Research Groups and Themes

  • Bristol BioDesign Institute

Keywords

  • synthetic biology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'How Static Disorder Mimics Decoherence in Anisotropy Pump-Probe Experiments on Purple-Bacteria Light Harvesting Complexes'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this