Four-wave mixing signals from β-carotene and its n = 15 homologue

Sugisaki, M., Fujiwara, M., Yanagi, K., Cogdell, R.J. and Hashimoto, H. (2008) Four-wave mixing signals from β-carotene and its n = 15 homologue. Photosynthesis Research, 95(2-3), pp. 299-308. (doi: 10.1007/s11120-007-9265-y)

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Publisher's URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11120-007-9265-y

Abstract

Abstract The third-order nonlinear optical responses of β-carotene and its homologue having a conjugation-double bond <i>n </i>= 15 have been investigated using sub-20 fs ultra-short optical pulses in order to clarify the dissipation processes of excess energy. Using the four-wave mixing spectroscopy, we observed a clear coherent oscillation with a period of a few tens of femtoseconds. The spectral density of these molecules was estimated that allowed the theoretical linear and nonlinear optical signals to be directly compared with the experimental data. Calculations based on the Brownian oscillator model were performed under the impulsive excitation limit. We show that the memory of the vibronic coherence generated upon the excitation into the S<sub>2</sub> state is lost via the relaxation process including the S<sub>1</sub> state. The vibronic decoherence lifetime of the system was estimated to be 1 ps, which is about 5 times larger than the life time of the S<sub>2</sub> state (~150 fs) determined in previous studies. The role of coherence and the efficient energy transfer in the light-harvesting antenna complexes are discussed.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Cogdell, Professor Richard
Authors: Sugisaki, M., Fujiwara, M., Yanagi, K., Cogdell, R.J., and Hashimoto, H.
Subjects:Q Science > QD Chemistry
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Molecular Biosciences
Journal Name:Photosynthesis Research
ISSN:0166-8595
Published Online:11 October 2007

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