Photoinduced Quantum Tunneling Model Applied to an Organic Molecule
- PDF / 816,847 Bytes
- 7 Pages / 595.224 x 790.955 pts Page_size
- 42 Downloads / 174 Views
GENERAL AND APPLIED PHYSICS
Photoinduced Quantum Tunneling Model Applied to an Organic Molecule E. Drigo Filho1 · K. H. P. Jubilato1 · R. M. Ricotta2 Received: 1 April 2020 © Sociedade Brasileira de F´ısica 2020
Abstract The paper proposes a photoinduced quantum tunneling model of electron transfer through four quantum square wells potential to simulate the biological process of photosynthesis in bacteria. The problem is mathematically exact with mathematical transcendental equations solved graphically. This simplified model allowed the calculation of the characteristic tunneling times of the process. A comparison is made between the results obtained in the model and the experimental data of the organic molecule Rhodobacter sphaeroides photosynthetic process. Keywords Quantum tunneling · Electron transfer · Photosynthesis · Potential wells
1 Introduction Quantum tunneling, the problem of barrier penetration, is one of the most interesting and rich phenomena of quantum mechanics. Witnessing them are the multiple applications in quantum physics, from the most classic examples such as the ammonia molecule, α-decay in nuclear physics, the scanning tunneling microscope, and many other effects in solid-state physics, as in semiconductors, such as Esaki diode and the Josephson junction [1, 2]. Semiconductor devices such as diodes, transistors, and integrated circuits can be found in everyday life, on televisions, cars, washing machines, diminished computers, quantum computers, and so on. The tunneling phenomenon is also responsible for the high-resolution field emission tunneling microscopy devices and manifests itself in complex theories of measurement fields through the known instantons [2]. In biological systems, quantum tunneling is centered on lowtemperature electron transport in proteins [3]; see [4] for
R. M. Ricotta
[email protected] 1
Instituto de Biociˆencias, Letras e Ciˆencias Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista “J´ulio de Mesquita Filho”, IBILCE-UNESP, S˜ao Paulo, Brazil
2
Faculdade de Tecnologia de S˜ao Paulo, FATEC/SP-CEETEPS, Avenida Tiradentes 615, S˜ao Paulo, SP, 01124-060, Brazil
a recent overview. Quantum biology effects are treated in recent papers [5–7]. For many decades, the electron transfer has been the subject of much research [8–11]. Photosynthesis is one of the phenomena in which electron transfer is carried out with great efficiency [12], occurring in plants, algae, bacteria, and cyanobacteria. A process that has generated interest is the electron transfer in cytochrome c [13, 14]. In [15], DeVault and Chance suggested that a quantum treatment should be given to the electron transfer of this molecule. Then, experiments showed the temperature independence in electron transfer processes at low temperatures. In these experiments, it can be observed that the charge transfer depends on the temperature up to a critical temperature value (Tc ); for lower temperatures, the transfer remains independent. This independence led to the conclusion that the electron transfer, under these condit
Data Loading...
