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Delocalized excitons in natural light-harvesting complexes

Journal Article · · Reviews of Modern Physics
 [1];  [2]
  1. City Univ. of New York (CUNY), NY (United States). Queens College; Queens College, City University of New York
  2. Univ. of Pisa (Italy)

Natural organisms such as photosynthetic bacteria, algae, and plants employ complex molecular machinery to convert solar energy into biochemical fuel. An important common feature shared by most of these photosynthetic organisms is that they capture photons in the form of excitons typically delocalized over a few to tens of pigment molecules embedded in protein environments of light harvesting complexes (LHCs). Delocalized excitons created in such LHCs remain well protected despite being swayed by environmental fluctuations and are delivered successfully to their destinations over 100 nanometer distances in about 100 ps times. Decades of experimental and theoretical investigation have produced a large body of information offering insight into major structural, energetic, and dynamical features contributing to LHCs’ extraordinary capability to harness photons using delocalized excitons. The objective of this review is (i) to provide a comprehensive account of major theoretical, computational, and spectroscopic advances that have contributed to this body of knowledge, and (ii) to clarify the issues concerning the role of delocalized excitons in achieving efficient energy transport mechanisms. The focus of this review is on three representative systems: the Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex of green sulfur bacteria, the light harvesting 2 complex of purple bacteria, and phycobiliproteins of cryptophyte algae. Although we offer a more in-depth and detailed description of theoretical and computational aspects, major experimental results and their implications are also assessed in the context of achieving excellent light-harvesting functionality. Future theoretical and experimental challenges to be addressed in gaining a better understanding and utilization of delocalized excitons are also discussed.

Research Organization:
City Univ. of New York (CUNY), NY (United States). Queens College
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences Division; European Research Council (ERC)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0001393
OSTI ID:
1755037
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1465628
Report Number(s):
DOE-Queens--1393-21
Journal Information:
Reviews of Modern Physics, Journal Name: Reviews of Modern Physics Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 90; ISSN 0034-6861
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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A multi-state fragment charge difference approach for diabatic states in electron transfer: Extension and automation journal October 2013
Origin of long-lived oscillations in 2D-spectra of a quantum vibronic model: Electronic versus vibrational coherence journal December 2013
Energy-scales convergence for optimal and robust quantum transport in photosynthetic complexes journal January 2014
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Fragment transition density method to calculate electronic coupling for excitation energy transfer journal June 2014
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Real-time and imaginary-time quantum hierarchal Fokker-Planck equations journal April 2015
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Realistic vs sudden turn-on of natural incoherent light: Coherences and dynamics in molecular excitation and internal conversion journal December 2015
Transform-limited-pulse representation of excitation with natural incoherent light journal January 2016
Energy transfer in structured and unstructured environments: Master equations beyond the Born-Markov approximations journal January 2016
Generalized quantum master equations in and out of equilibrium: When can one win? journal May 2016
Lineshape theory of pigment-protein complexes: How the finite relaxation time of nuclei influences the exciton relaxation-induced lifetime broadening journal July 2016
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Theoretical examination of quantum coherence in a photosynthetic system at physiological temperature journal October 2009
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Optimal fold symmetry of LH2 rings on a photosynthetic membrane journal May 2013
Single-molecule spectroscopy reveals photosynthetic LH2 complexes switch between emissive states journal June 2013
Single-residue insertion switches the quaternary structure and exciton states of cryptophyte light-harvesting proteins journal June 2014
Nature does not rely on long-lived electronic quantum coherence for photosynthetic energy transfer journal July 2017
Fluorescence and photobleaching dynamics of single light-harvesting complexes journal September 1997
Evolution of a light-harvesting protein by addition of new subunits and rearrangement of conserved elements: Crystal structure of a cryptophyte phycoerythrin at 1.63-A resolution journal August 1999
The dynamics of structural deformations of immobilized single light-harvesting complexes journal September 1999
The Organization of LH2 Complexes in Membranes from Rhodobacter sphaeroides journal August 2008
Energy transfer from Förster–Dexter theory to quantum coherent light-harvesting journal January 2011
Quantum mechanics of excitation transport in photosynthetic complexes: a key issues review journal July 2015
Modeling of excitation dynamics in photosynthetic light-harvesting complexes: exact versus perturbative approaches journal May 2017
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Noise-assisted energy transfer in quantum networks and light-harvesting complexes journal June 2010
Limits of quantum speedup in photosynthetic light harvesting journal June 2010
Dynamics of electronic dephasing in the Fenna–Matthews–Olson complex journal June 2010
An efficient method to calculate excitation energy transfer in light-harvesting systems: application to the Fenna–Matthews–Olson complex journal November 2011
Modelling of oscillations in two-dimensional echo-spectra of the Fenna–Matthews–Olson complex journal February 2012
Coherent quantum dynamics in donor–bridge–acceptor systems: beyond the hopping and super-exchange mechanisms journal October 2013
Generalized projected dynamics for non-system observables of non-equilibrium quantum impurity models journal July 2013
Efficient simulation of non-Markovian system-environment interaction journal February 2016
Quantum-coherent energy transfer: implications for biology and new energy technologies
  • Olaya-Castro, Alexandra; Nazir, Ahsan; Fleming, Graham R.
  • Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 370, Issue 1972 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2012.0192
journal August 2012
On the Transformation of light into Heat in Solids. I journal January 1931
Entanglement and entangling power of the dynamics in light-harvesting complexes journal June 2010
Environmental dynamics, correlations, and the emergence of noncanonical equilibrium states in open quantum systems journal September 2014
Generalized-master-equation theory of excitation transfer journal June 1974
Real-time path-integral approach to quantum coherence and dephasing in nonadiabatic transitions and nonlinear optical response journal January 1993
Excitons in a photosynthetic light-harvesting system: A combined molecular dynamics, quantum chemistry, and polaron model study journal March 2002
Accuracy of perturbative master equations journal March 2011
Rerouting excitation transfers in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex journal September 2013
Energy transfer efficiency in the chromophore network strongly coupled to a vibrational mode journal November 2015
Instantaneous Mapping of Coherently Coupled Electronic Transitions and Energy Transfers in a Photosynthetic Complex Using Angle-Resolved Coherent Optical Wave-Mixing journal February 2009
Correlation-Dependent Coherent to Incoherent Transitions in Resonant Energy Transfer Dynamics journal October 2009
Light-Harvesting Mechanism of Bacteria Exploits a Critical Interplay between the Dynamics of Transport and Trapping journal April 2010
Efficient Simulation of Strong System-Environment Interactions journal July 2010
Generalized Master Equation with Non-Markovian Multichromophoric Förster Resonance Energy Transfer for Modular Exciton Densities journal October 2014
Thermal Light Cannot Be Represented as a Statistical Mixture of Single Pulses journal May 2015
Reduced Dynamics Need Not Be Completely Positive journal August 1994
Exciton Delocalization Probed by Excitation Annihilation in the Light-Harvesting Antenna LH2 journal April 2001
Multichromophoric Förster Resonance Energy Transfer journal May 2004
Coherence in the B800 Ring of Purple Bacteria LH2 journal January 2006
Chromatic Adaptation of Photosynthetic Membranes journal July 2005
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Quantum Coherent Energy Transfer over Varying Pathways in Single Light-Harvesting Complexes journal June 2013
Unraveling the Electronic Structure of Individual Photosynthetic Pigment-Protein Complexes journal July 1999
Photosynthetic Excitons book January 2000
Stochastic Liouville, Langevin, Fokker–Planck, and Master Equation Approaches to Quantum Dissipative Systems journal August 2006
Coherence in Energy Transfer and Photosynthesis journal April 2015
Semiclassical Path Integral Dynamics: Photosynthetic Energy Transfer with Realistic Environment Interactions journal May 2016
Experimental Implementations of Two-Dimensional Fourier Transform Electronic Spectroscopy journal April 2015
Electronic Energy Transfer in Molecular Crystals journal October 1976
Dynamics of Light Harvesting in Photosynthesis journal May 2009
L ONG -R ANGE R ESONANCE E NERGY T RANSFER IN M OLECULAR S YSTEMS journal October 2003
T WO -D IMENSIONAL F EMTOSECOND S PECTROSCOPY journal October 2003
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How Proteins Trigger Excitation Energy Transfer in the FMO Complex of Green Sulfur Bacteria journal October 2006
Solvation Effect of Bacteriochlorophyll Excitons in Light-Harvesting Complex LH2 journal September 2007
Visualization of Excitonic Structure in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson Photosynthetic Complex by Polarization-Dependent Two-Dimensional Electronic Spectroscopy journal July 2008
Exciton Delocalization Probed by Excitation Annihilation in the Light-Harvesting Antenna LH2 text January 2001
Modelling light-driven proton pumps in artificial photosynthetic reaction centers text January 2009
Highly efficient energy excitation transfer in light-harvesting complexes: The fundamental role of noise-assisted transport text January 2009
Quantum entanglement in photosynthetic light harvesting complexes text January 2009
Molecular Response in One-Photon Absorption via Natural Thermal Light vs Pulsed Laser Excitation text January 2011
Dynamic Coherence in Excitonic Molecular Complexes under Various Excitation Conditions text January 2013
Multistep Quantum Master Equation Theory for Response Functions in Four Wave Mixing Electronic Spectroscopy of Multichromophoric Macromolecules journal March 2012
Overall energy conversion efficiency of a photosynthetic vesicle journal August 2016

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Excitation relaxation in molecular chain and energy transfer at steady state text January 2021
Spectroscopic Properties of Light-Activated Proteins Resolved by Multiscale-Simulations text January 2019
Spectral Variability in Phycocyanin Cryptophyte Antenna Complexes is Controlled by Changes in the α‐Polypeptide Chains journal May 2019
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Fourth order expressions for the electronic absorption lineshape of molecular excitons journal July 2019
Optical spectra in the condensed phase: Capturing anharmonic and vibronic features using dynamic and static approaches journal August 2019
Assessing density functional theory in real-time and real-space as a tool for studying bacteriochlorophylls and the light-harvesting complex 2 journal October 2019
Driving-assisted open quantum transport in qubit networks journal January 2020
Geometry Effects on Light‐Harvesting Complex's Light Absorption and Energy Transfer in Purple Bacteria journal July 2019
Broad-Band Negative Refraction via Simultaneous Multi-Electron Transitions text January 2018
Driving-assisted open quantum transport in qubit networks text January 2019