Structure and Efficiency in Bacterial Photosynthetic Light Harvesting

Superradiance and Exciton Delocalization in Bacterial Photosynthetic Light-Harvesting Systems

We present temperature-dependent fluorescence quantum yield and lifetime measurements on the LH-1 and LH-2 complexes of Rhodobacter sphaeroides and on the isolated B820 subunit of Rhodospirillum rubrum. From these measurements the superradiance is calculated, which is related to the delocalization of excitations in these complexes. In the B820 preparation we find a radiative rate that is 30% hi...

Optimization of Light-Harvesting Pigment Improves Photosynthetic Efficiency.

Maximizing light capture by light-harvesting pigment optimization represents an attractive but challenging strategy to improve photosynthetic efficiency. Here, we report that loss of a previously uncharacterized gene, HIGH PHOTOSYNTHETIC EFFICIENCY1 (HPE1), optimizes light-harvesting pigments, leading to improved photosynthetic efficiency and biomass production. Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thalian...

Photosynthetic light harvesting: excitons and coherence.

Photosynthesis begins with light harvesting, where specialized pigment-protein complexes transform sunlight into electronic excitations delivered to reaction centres to initiate charge separation. There is evidence that quantum coherence between electronic excited states plays a role in energy transfer. In this review, we discuss how quantum coherence manifests in photosynthetic light harvestin...

Energy Transfer and Photosynthetic Light Harvesting

Quantum Coherence in Photosynthetic Light Harvesting

Recent two-dimensional (2D) electronic spectroscopic experiments revealed that electronic energy transfer in photosynthetic light harvesting involves long-lived quantum coherence among electronic excitations of pigments. These findings have led to the suggestion that quantum coherence might play a role in achieving the remarkable quantum efficiency of photosynthetic light harvesting. Further, t...