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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Effect of Spectral Density Shapes on the Excitonic Structure and Dynamics of the Fenna–Matthews–Olson Trimer from Chlorobaculum tepidum

The Fenna–Matthews–Olson (FMO) trimer (composed of identical subunits) from the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobaculum tepidum is an important protein model system to study exciton dynamics and excitation energy transfer (EET) in photosynthetic complexes. In addition, FMO is a popular model for excitonic calculations, with many theoretical parameter sets reported describing different linear and nonlinear optical spectra. Due to fast exciton relaxation within each subunit, intermonomer EET results predominantly from the lowest energy exciton states (contributed to by BChl α 3 and 4). Using experimentally determined shapes for the spectral densities, simulated optical spectra are obtained for the entire FMO trimer. Simultaneous fits of low-temperature absorption, fluorescence, and hole-burned spectra place constraints on the determined pigment site energies, providing a new Hamiltonian that should be further tested to improve modeling of 2D electronic spectroscopy data and our understanding of coherent and dissipation effects in this important protein complex.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

Ultrafast Spectroscopic Investigation of Energy Transfer in Site-Directed Mutants of the Fenna–Matthews–Olson (FMO) Antenna Complex from Chlorobaculum tepidum

Ultrafast transient absorption (TA) and time-resolved fluorescence (TRF) spectroscopic studies were performed on several mutants of the bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) a-containing Fenna–Matthews–Olson (FMO) complex from the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobaculum tepidum. These mutants were generated to perturb a particular BChl a site and determine its effects on the optical spectroscopic properties of the pigment–protein complex. Measurements conducted at 77 K under both oxidizing and reducing conditions revealed changes in the dynamics of the various spectral components as compared to the data set from wild-type FMO. TRF results show that under reducing conditions all FMO samples decay with a similar lifetime in the ~2 ns range. The oxidized samples revealed varying fluorescence lifetimes of the terminal BChl a emitter, considerably shorter than those recorded for the reduced samples, indicating that the quenching mechanism in wild-type FMO is still present in the mutants. Global fitting of TA data yielded similar overall results, and in addition, the lifetimes of early decaying components were determined. Target analyses of TA data for select FMO samples generated kinetic models that better simulate the TA data. Here, a comparison of the lifetime of excitonic components for all samples reveals that the mutations affect mainly the early kinetic components, but not that of the lowest energy exciton, which reflects the flexibility of energy transfer in FMO.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Excitonic Energy Landscape of the Y16F Mutant of the Chlorobium tepidum Fenna–Matthews–Olson (FMO) Complex: High Resolution Spectroscopic and Modeling Studies

We report high-resolution (low-temperature) absorption, emission, and nonresonant/resonant hole-burned (HB) spectra and results of excitonic calculations using a non-Markovian reduced density matrix theory (with an improved algorithm for parameter optimization in heterogeneous samples) obtained for the Y16F mutant of the Fenna–Matthews–Olson (FMO) trimer from the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobium tepidum. We show that the Y16F mutant is a mixture of FMO complexes with three independent low-energy traps (located near 817, 821, and 826 nm), in agreement with measured composite emission and HB spectra. Two of these traps belong to mutated FMO subpopulations characterized by significantly modified low-energy excitonic states. Hamiltonians for the two major subpopulations (Sub 821 and Sub 817 ) provide new insight into extensive changes induced by the single-point mutation in the vicinity of BChl 3 (where tyrosine Y16 was replaced with phenylalanine F16). The average decay time(s) from the higher exciton state(s) in the Y16F mutant depends on frequency and occurs on a picosecond time scale.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Site-Dependent Fluctuations Optimize Electronic Energy Transfer in the Fenna–Matthews–Olson Protein

Light absorbed by light-harvesting antennae is transferred to the reaction center (RC). The excitation energy transfer (EET) to the RC is known to proceed with nearly perfect quantum yield. However, understanding of EET is still limited at the molecular level. Here in this paper, we examine the dynamics in the Fenna–Matthews–Olson (FMO) protein by developing an efficient molecular dynamics simulation that can properly describe the electronic properties of bacteriochlorophylls. We find that the FMO protein consists of sites with heterogeneous fluctuations extending from fast to slow modulation. We also find that efficient EETs are facilitated by site-dependent fluctuations that enhance the resonance condition between neighboring sites with large site energy differences and circumvent exciton trapping on the pathway to the RC. Knowledge of site-dependent fluctuations is an important component of understanding optimization of EET in photosynthetic systems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Impact of Single-Point Mutations on the Excitonic Structure and Dynamics in a Fenna–Matthews–Olson Complex

The Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) antenna complex from the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobaculum (C.) tepidum is an important model protein to study exciton dynamics and excitation energy transfer in photosynthetic complexes. Single point mutations provide an excellent opportunity for the study of exciton structure and interexciton level relaxation. In this bacterium, the energy harvested by chlorosomes is funnelled via the baseplate pigments and FMO trimers to the reaction center (RC), where photochemistry takes place. The structure of the FMO protein from C. tepidum was solved and revealed a homotrimeric complex containing eight bacteriochlorophylls (BChl) a per monomer.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Signatures of correlated excitonic dynamics in two-dimensional spectroscopy of the Fenna-Matthew-Olson photosynthetic complex

Long-lived excitonic coherence in photosynthetic proteins has become an exciting area of research because it may provide design principles for enhancing the efficiency of energy transfer in a broad range of materials. In this publication, we provide new evidence that long-lived excitonic coherence in the Fenna-Mathew-Olson pigment-protein (FMO) complex is consistent with the assumption of cross correlation in the site basis, indicating that each site shares bath fluctuations. We analyze the structure and character of the beating crosspeak between the two lowest energy excitons in two-dimensional (2D) electronic spectra of the FMO Complex. To isolate this dynamic signature, we use the two-dimensional linear prediction Z-transform as a platform for filtering coherent beating signatures within 2D spectra. By separating signals into components in frequency and decay rate representations, we are able to improve resolution and isolate specific coherences. This strategy permits analysis of the shape, position, character, and phase of these features. Simulations of the crosspeak between excitons 1 and 2 in FMO under different regimes of cross correlation verify that statistically independent site fluctuations do not account for the elongation and persistence of the dynamic crosspeak. To reproduce the experimental results, we invoke near complete correlation in the fluctuations experienced by the sites associated with excitons 1 and 2. This model contradicts ab initio quantum mechanic/molecular mechanics simulations that observe no correlation between the energies of individual sites. This contradiction suggests that a new physical model for long-lived coherence may be necessary. The data presented here details experimental results that must be reproduced for a physical model of quantum coherence in photosynthetic energy transfer.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Simulating signatures of two-dimensional electronic spectra of the Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex: By using a numerical path integral

A framework for simulating electronic spectra from photon-echo experiments is constructed by using a numerical path integral technique. This method is non-Markovian and nonperturbative and, more importantly, is not limited by a fixed form of the spectral density functions of the environment. Next, a two-dimensional (2D) third-order electronic spectrum of a dimer system is simulated. The spectrum is in agreement with the experimental and theoretical results previously reported [for example, M. Khalil, N. Demirdöven, and A. Tokmakoff, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 047401 (2003)]. Finally, a 2D third-order electronic spectrum of the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) complex is simulated by using the Debye, Ohmic, and Adolphs and Renger spectral density functions. It is shown that this method can clearly produce the spectral signatures of the FMO complex by using only the Adolphs and Renger spectral density function. Plots of the evolution of the diagonal and cross-peaks show that they are oscillating with the population time.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Robustness, efficiency, and optimality in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson photosynthetic pigment-protein complex

Pigment-protein complexes (PPCs) play a central role in facilitating excitation energy transfer (EET) from light-harvesting antenna complexes to reaction centres in photosynthetic systems; understanding molecular organisation in these biological networks is key to developing better artificial light-harvesting systems. In this article, we combine quantum-mechanical simulations and a network-based picture of transport to investigate how chromophore organization and protein environment in PPCs impacts on EET efficiency and robustness. In a prototypical PPC model, the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) complex, we consider the impact on EET efficiency of both disrupting the chromophore network and changing the influence of (local and global) environmental dephasing. Surprisingly, we find a large degree of resilience to changes in both chromophore network and protein environmental dephasing, the extent of which is greater than previously observed; for example, FMO maintains EET when 50% of the constituent chromophores are removed, or when environmental dephasing fluctuations vary over two orders-of-magnitude relative to the in vivo system. We also highlight the fact that the influence of local dephasing can be strongly dependent on the characteristics of the EET network and the initial excitation; for example, initial excitations resulting in rapid coherent decay are generally insensitive to the environment, whereas the incoherent population decay observed following excitation at weakly coupled chromophores demonstrates a more pronounced dependence on dephasing rate as a result of the greater possibility of local exciton trapping. Finally, we show that the FMO electronic Hamiltonian is not particularly optimised for EET; instead, it is just one of many possible chromophore organisations which demonstrate a good level of EET transport efficiency following excitation at different chromophores. Overall, these robustness and efficiency characteristics are attributed to the highly connected nature of the chromophore network and the presence of multiple EET pathways, features which might easily be built into artificial photosynthetic systems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Quantum coherent energy transport in the Fenna–Matthews–Olson complex at low temperature

In the primary step of natural light harvesting, the solar photon energy is captured in a photoexcited electron–hole pair, or an exciton, in chlorophyll. Its conversion to chemical potential occurs in the special pair reaction center, which is reached by downhill ultrafast excited-state energy transport through a network of chromophores. Being inherently quantum, transport could in principle occur via a matter wave, with vast implications for efficiency. How long a matter wave remains coherent is determined by the intensity by which the exciton is disturbed by the noisy biological environment. The stronger this is, the stronger the electronic coupling between chromophores must be to overcome the fluctuations and phase shifts. The current consensus is that under physiological conditions, quantum coherence vanishes on the 10-fs time scale, rendering it irrelevant for the observed picosecond transfer. Yet, at low-enough temperature, quantum coherence should in principle be present. Here, we reveal the onset of longer-lived electronic coherence at extremely low temperatures of ∼20 K. Using two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy, we determine the exciton coherence times in the Fenna–Matthew–Olson complex over an extensive temperature range. At 20 K, coherence persists out to 200 fs (close to the antenna) and marginally up to 500 fs at the reaction center. It decays markedly faster with modest increases in temperature to become irrelevant above 150 K. At low temperature, the fragile electronic coherence can be separated from the robust vibrational coherence, using a rigorous theoretical analysis. We believe that by this generic principle, light harvesting becomes robust against otherwise fragile quantum effects.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

On uncorrelated inter-monomer Förster energy transfer in Fenna–Matthews–Olson complexes

The Fenna–Matthews–Olson (FMO) light-harvesting antenna protein of green sulfur bacteria is a long-studied pigment–protein complex which funnels energy from the chlorosome to the reaction centre where photochemistry takes place. The structure of the FMO protein from Chlorobaculum tepidum is known as a homotrimeric complex containing eight bacteriochlorophyll a per monomer. Owing to this structure FMO has strong intra-monomer and weak inter-monomer electronic coupling constants. While long-lived (sub-picosecond) coherences within a monomer have been a prevalent topic of study over the past decade, various experimental evidence supports the presence of subsequent inter-monomer energy transfer on a picosecond time scale. The latter has been neglected by most authors in recent years by considering only sub-picosecond time scales or assuming that the inter-monomer coupling between low-energy states is too weak to warrant consideration of the entire trimer. However, Förster theory predicts that energy transfer of the order of picoseconds is possible even for very weak (less than 5 c m-1 ) electronic coupling between chromophores. This work reviews experimental data (with a focus on emission and hole-burned spectra) and simulations of exciton dynamics which demonstrate inter-monomer energy transfer. It is shown that the lowest energy 825 nm absorbance band cannot be properly described by a single excitonic state. The energy transfer through FMO is modelled by generalized Förster theory using a non-Markovian, reduced density matrix approach to describe the electronic structure. The disorder-averaged inter-monomer transfer time across the 825 nm band is about 27 ps. While only isolated FMO proteins are presented, the presence of inter-monomer energy transfer in the context of the overall photosystem is also briefly discussed.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Neutron and X-ray analysis of the Fenna–Matthews–Olson photosynthetic antenna complex from Prosthecochloris aestuarii

The Fenna–Matthews–Olson protein from Prosthecochloris aestuarii ( Pa FMO) has been crystallized in a new form that is amenable to high-resolution X-ray and neutron analysis. The crystals belonged to space group H 3, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 83.64, c = 294.78 Å, and diffracted X-rays to ∼1.7 Å resolution at room temperature. Large Pa FMO crystals grown to volumes of 0.3–0.5 mm 3 diffracted neutrons to 2.2 Å resolution on the MaNDi neutron diffractometer at the Spallation Neutron Source. The resolution of the neutron data will allow direct determination of the positions of H atoms in the structure, which are believed to be fundamentally important in tuning the individual excitation energies of bacteriochlorophylls in this archetypal photosynthetic antenna complex. This is one of the largest unit-cell systems yet studied using neutron diffraction, and will allow the first high-resolution neutron analysis of a photosynthetic antenna complex.

solar (fuels), photosynthesis (natural and artific↗
DOE OSTI2022

A general quantum algorithm for open quantum dynamics demonstrated with the Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex

Using quantum algorithms to simulate complex physical processes and correlations in quantum matter has been a major direction of quantum computing research, towards the promise of a quantum advantage over classical approaches. In this work we develop a generalized quantum algorithm to simulate any dynamical process represented by either the operator sum representation or the Lindblad master equation. We then demonstrate the quantum algorithm by simulating the dynamics of the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) complex on the IBM QASM quantum simulator. This work represents a first demonstration of a quantum algorithm for open quantum dynamics with a moderately sophisticated dynamical process involving a realistic biological structure. We discuss the complexity of the quantum algorithm relative to the classical method for the same purpose, presenting a decisive query complexity advantage of the quantum approach based on the unique property of quantum measurement.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗