title: Optical Signatures of Quantum Delocalization over Extended Domains in Photosynthetic Membranes.
abstract: The prospect of coherent dynamics and excitonic delocalization across several light-harvesting structures in photosynthetic membranes is of considerable interest, but challenging to explore experimentally. Here we demonstrate theoretically that the excitonic delocalization across extended domains involving several light-harvesting complexes can lead to unambiguous signatures in the optical response, specifically, linear absorption spectra. We characterize, under experimentally established conditions of molecular assembly and protein-induced inhomogeneities, the optical absorption in these arrays from polarized and unpolarized excitation, and demonstrate that it can be used as a diagnostic tool to determine the resonance coupling between iso-energetic light-harvesting structures. The knowledge of these couplings would then provide further insight into the dynamical properties of transfer, such as facilitating the accurate determination of Förster rates.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Ulm , Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, D-89069 Ulm, Germany.|Joint Quantum Institute, Department of Physics, University of Maryland and National Institute of Standards and Technology , College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: Christopher A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Schroeder
authors.affiliation: Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Ulm , Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, D-89069 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Felipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Caycedo-Soler
authors.affiliation: Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Ulm , Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, D-89069 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Susana F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Huelga
authors.affiliation: Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Ulm , Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, D-89069 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Plenio
mesh_terms: D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D055620:Optical Phenomena; D010788:Photosynthesis; D011789:Quantum Theory