Abstract

Efficient energy transfer in light harvesting (LH) complexes forms an important part of the photosynthetic process that results in the conversion of light energy into chemical free energy. A number of factors are important for understanding the process that directs the optical excitation to the reaction center. Included are the nature of relevant excited states of chlorophylls (e.g. localised or delocalised), bath induced mechanisms for homogeneous broadening of transitions etc. The Q_y-absorption (S₁) of chlorophyllic molecules in protein complexes appears as inhomogeneously broadened bands with Γ_I ~ 50 - 200cm^-1 at liquid helium temperatures.

© 1991 Optical Society of America