Riedl M, Renger T, Seibt J. Theory of 2D electronic spectroscopy of water soluble chlorophyll-binding protein (WSCP): Signatures of Chl b derivate.
J Chem Phys 2024;
160:184114. [PMID:
38726933 DOI:
10.1063/5.0200876]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 04/21/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024] Open
Abstract
We investigate how electronic excitations and subsequent dissipative dynamics in the water soluble chlorophyll-binding protein (WSCP) are connected to features in two-dimensional (2D) electronic spectra, thereby comparing results from our theoretical approach with experimental data from the literature. Our calculations rely on third-order response functions, which we derived from a second-order cumulant expansion of the dissipative dynamics involving the partial ordering prescription, assuming a fast vibrational relaxation in the potential energy surfaces of excitons. Depending on whether the WSCP complex containing a tetrameric arrangement of pigments composed of two dimers with weak excitonic coupling between them binds the chlorophyll variant Chl a or Chl b, the resulting linear absorption and circular dichroism spectra and particularly the 2D spectra exhibit substantial differences in line shapes. These differences between Chl a WSCP and Chl b WSCP cannot be explained by the slightly modified excitonic couplings within the two variants. In the case of Chl a WSCP, the assumption of equivalent dimer subunits facilitates a reproduction of substantial features from the experiment by the calculations. In contrast, for Chl b WSCP, we have to assume that the sample, in addition to Chl b dimers, contains a small but distinct fraction of chemically modified Chl b pigments. The existence of such Chl b derivates has been proposed by Pieper et al. [J. Phys. Chem. B 115, 4042 (2011)] based on low-temperature absorption and hole-burning spectroscopy. Here, we provide independent evidence.
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