Long-Lived Coherence Originating from Electronic-Vibrational Couplings in Light-Harvesting Complexes

We theoretically investigate the evolutions of two-dimensional, third-order, nonlinear photon echo rephasing spectra with population time by using an exact numerical path integral method. It is shown that for the same system, the coherence time and relaxation time of excitonic states are short, however, if the couplings of electronic and intra-pigment vibrational modes are considered, the coherence time and relaxation time of this vibronic states are greatly extended. It means that the couplings between electronic and vibrational modes play important roles in keeping long-lived coherence in light-harvesting complexes. Particularly, by using the method we can fix the transition path of the energy transfer in bio-molecular systems.

Direct Observation of Electron-Vibration Coupling at MXene-Solvent Interface

MXenes,a new family of two-dimensional(2D)materials,have received extensive interest due to their fascinating physicochemical properties,such as outstandinglight-to-heat conversion efficiency.However,the photothermal conversion mechanism of MXenes is still poorly understood.Here,by using femtosecond visible and mid-infrared transient absorption spectroscopy,the electronic energy dissipation dynamics of MXene(Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x))nanosheets dispersed in various solvents are carefully studied.Our results indicate that the lifetime of photoexcited MXene is strongly dependent on the surrounding environment.Especially,the interfacial electron-vibration coupling between the MXene nanosheets and the adjacent solvent molecules is directly observed following the ultrafast photoexcitation of MXene.It suggests that the interfacial interactions at the MXene-solvent interface play a critical role in the ultrafast energy transport dynamics of MXene,which offers a potentially feasible route for tailoring the light conversion properties of 2D systems.

Coherent Vibrational Dynamics of[Au_(25)(SR)_(18)]^(-) Nanoclusters

Coherent vibrational dynamics can be observed in atomically precise gold nanoclusters using femtosecond time-resolved pump-probe spectroscopy.It can not only reveal the coupling between electrons and vibrations,but also reflect the mechanical and electronic properties of metal nanoclusters,which holds potential applications in biological sensing and mass detection.Here,we investigated the coherent vibrational dynamics of[Au_(25)(SR)_(18)]^(-)nanoclusters by ultrafast spectroscopy and revealed the origins of thesecoherent vibrations by analyzing their frequency,phase and probe wavelength distributions.Strong coherent oscillations with frequency of 40 cm^(-1) and 80 cm^(-1) can be reproduced in the excited state dynamics of[Au_(25)(SR)_(18)]^(-),which should originate from acoustic vibrations of the Au13 metal core.Phase analysis on the oscillations indicates that the 80 cm^(-1) mode should arise from the frequency modulation of the electronic states while the 40 cm^(-1) mode should originate from the amplitude modulation of the dynamic spectrum.Moreover,it is found that the vibration frequencies of[Au_(25)(SR)_(18)]^(-)obtained in pump-probe measurements are independent of the surface ligands so that they are intrinsic properties of the metal core.These results are of great value to understand the electron-vibration coupling of metal nanoclusters.

Effects of Thermal Lattice Vibration on the Effective Potential of Weak-Coupling Bipolaron in a Quantum Dot

Based on the Huybrechts' linear-combination operator,effects of thermal lattice vibration on the effective potential of weak-coupling bipolaron in semiconductor quantum dots are studied by using the LLP variational method and quantum statistical theory.The results show that the absolute value of the induced potential of the bipolaron increases with increasing the electron-phonon coupling strength,but decreases with increasing the temperature and the distance of electrons,respectively;the absolute value of the effective potential increases with increasing the radius of the quantum dot,electron-phonon coupling strength and the distance of electrons,respectively,but decreases with increasing the temperature;the temperature and electron-phonon interaction have the important influence on the formation and state properties of the bipolaron:the bipolarons in the bound state are closer and more stable when the electron-phonon coupling strength is larger or the temperature is lower;the confinement potential and coulomb repulsive potential between electrons are unfavorable to the formation of bipolarons in the bound state.

Anisotropic effect on the vibronic reduction factors

The reduction factors p and q defined by Ham in the Ee JT system and their relation 2q-p=1 have been well accepted and the concept of reduction factors is widely used in the studies of vibronic coupling. However, when the system is under the anisotropic conditions, the reduction factors and their relation will change accordingly. The first-order reduction factors p and q of Ee system were further studied using the method of unitary transformation here. The relation between p and q proposed by Ham was investigated under both conditions of the linear coupling and the anisotropic effects. The result demonstrated that the relation of 2q-p=1 was only correct for the linear vibronic coupling, but not correct when the anisotropic effect was considered. This result suggested that the anisotropic effect influence considerably the reduction factors, and hence the physical properties of materials. Our method could be also applied to other JT systems, especially the highly symmetric JT systems involving C60 molecules.

Coupling Distant Spins of Surface-State Electrons by Manipulating Their Collective Vibrations

The system of electrons on liquid helium is an interesting candidate to implement quantum computation, due to the long coherence times of the qubits encoded by the electronic spins. In order to implement the quantum logic operations between the spins, we propose here a configuration, similarly to the cooled ions in a trap, to couple the distant electrons via manipulating their center of mass （CM） vibrations. First, we show that the electrons could be confined in a common harmonic oscillator potential by using an electrostatic field. Then, with a single current pulse （applied on the micro-electrode below the liquid helium） the distant electronic spins can be coupled simultaneously to the CM mode. Finally, by adiabatically eliminating the CM mode, effective interaction between the distant spins is induced for implementing the desired quantum computing.