Photon Echo Spectroscopy Research Articles

Bimodal dynamics of mechanically constrained hydrogen bonds revealed by vibrational photon echoes

We have investigated the dynamics of the hydrogen bonds that connect the components of a [2]rotaxane in solution. In this rotaxane, the amide groups in the benzylic-amide macrocycle and the succinamide thread are connected by four equivalent N-H⋅⋅⋅O=C hydrogen bonds. The fluctuations of these hydrogen bonds are mirrored by the frequency fluctuations of the NH-stretch modes, which are probed by means of three-pulse photon-echo peak shift spectroscopy. The hydrogen-bond fluctuations occur on three different time scales, with time constants of 0.1, 0.6, and ≥200 ps. Comparing these three time scales to the ones found in liquid formamide, which contains the same hydrogen-bonded amide motif but without mechanical constraints, we find that the faster two components, which are associated with small-amplitude fluctuations in the strength of the N-H⋅⋅⋅O=C hydrogen bonds, are very similar in the liquid and the rotaxane. However, the third component, which is associated with the breaking and subsequent reformation of hydrogen bonds, is found to be much slower in the rotaxane than in the liquid. It can be concluded that the mechanical bonding in a rotaxane does not influence the amplitude and time scale of the small-amplitude fluctuations of the hydrogen bonds, but strongly slows down the complete dissociation of these hydrogen bonds. This is probably because in a rotaxane breaking of the macrocycle-axle contacts is severely hindered by the mechanical constraints. The hydrogen-bond dynamics in rotaxane-based molecular machines can therefore be regarded as liquidlike on a time scale 1 ps and less, but structurally frozen on longer (up to at least 200 ps) time scales.

Single-Shot Gradient-Assisted Photon Echo Electronic Spectroscopy

Two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2D ES) maps the electronic structure of complex systems on a femtosecond time scale. While analogous to multidimensional NMR spectroscopy, 2D optical spectroscopy differs significantly in its implementation. Yet, 2D Fourier spectroscopies still require point-by-point sampling of the time delay between two pulses responsible for creating quantum coherence among states. Unlike NMR, achieving the requisite phase stability at optical frequencies between these pulse pairs remains experimentally challenging. Nonetheless, 2D optical spectroscopy has been successfully demonstrated by combining passive and active phase stabilization along with precise control of optical delays and long-term temperature stability, although the widespread adoption of 2D ES has been significantly hampered by these technical challenges. Here, we exploit an analogy to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to demonstrate a single-shot method capable of acquiring the entire 2D spectrum in a single laser shot using only conventional optics. Unlike point-by-point sampling protocols typically used to record 2D spectra, this method, which we call GRadient-Assisted Photon Echo (GRAPE) spectroscopy, largely eliminates phase errors while reducing the acquisition time by orders of magnitude. By incorporating a spatiotemporal encoding of the nonlinear polarization along the excitation frequency axis of the 2D spectrum, GRAPE spectroscopy achieves no loss in signal while simultaneously reducing overall noise. Here, we describe the principles of GRAPE spectroscopy and discuss associated experimental considerations.

Biexcitonic Fine Structure of CdSe Nanocrystals Probed by Polarization-Dependent Two-Dimensional Photon Echo Spectroscopy

The spectroscopy of colloidal CdSe nanocrystals is investigated using two-dimensional photon echo (2DPE) spectroscopy with copolarized and cross-polarized pulse sequences. Clearly resolved excited state absorption features are observed to beat at the frequency of the longitudinal-optical phonon, and the phase of this beating is found to be polarization-dependent. A simulation is performed using the excitonic and biexcitionic fine structure states predicted by theory, and the polarization-dependent beating allows each feature to be assigned to a particular excited state absorption pathway. Owing to their circularly polarized selection rules, the polarization-dependent 2DPE technique provides valuable insights into the spectroscopy of quantum dots. In particular, transient absorption features observed in pump-probe studies of CdSe quantum dots can now be assigned to specific fine structure transitions to the ground state biexciton.

Three‐Pulse Photon‐Echo Peak Shift Spectroscopy and Its Application for the Study of Solvation and Nanoscale Excitons

An understanding of chemical reactivity begins with an understanding of the dynamics involved regarding system-bath interactions. Spectroscopic studies of these interactions in condensed-phase multichromophoric systems are intricate and contain much information. Photon-echo spectroscopy has proven to be a useful tool for probing these interactions. A description of three-pulse photon-echo peak shift spectroscopy (3PEPS)--theory, experiment, and application--for the study of solvation and dynamics of nanoscale excitons is presented. Also, we discuss how two-dimensional photon-echo spectroscopy (2DPE) relates to 3PEPS and show how 3PEPS data can be extracted from 2D photon-echo data.

Using two-dimensional photon echo spectroscopy to probe the fine structure of the ground state biexciton of CdSe nanocrystals

The origin of the fine structure of the ground state single- and biexciton of CdSe nanocrystals is reviewed, along with the theoretical framework used to describe these states. Calculations were performed to determine the transition dipole moments of optically allowed transitions from the single- to biexciton fine structure states. Two-dimensional photon echo spectroscopy measurements for a sample of CdSe nanocrystals are reported. The two-dimensional electronic spectrum at a population time of 0 fs is analyzed using a simulation based on k.p theory predictions of the exciton and biexciton manifolds of states. The analysis suggests that a particular excited state absorption transition from the single- to biexciton fine structure dominates the 2D spectra. These excited state absorptions are clearly resolved in 2D spectra and the method therefore has promise for gaining clearer insights into quantum dot spectroscopy.

Real-time mapping of electronic structure with single-shot two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy.

Electronic structure and dynamics determine material properties and behavior. Important time scales for electronic dynamics range from attoseconds to milliseconds. Two-dimensional optical spectroscopy has proven an incisive tool to probe fast spatiotemporal electronic dynamics in complex multichromophoric systems. However, acquiring these spectra requires long point-by-point acquisitions that preclude observations on the millisecond and microsecond time scales. Here we demonstrate that imaging temporally encoded information within a homogeneous sample allows mapping of the evolution of the electronic Hamiltonian with femtosecond temporal resolution in a single-laser-shot, providing real-time maps of electronic coupling. This method, which we call GRadient-Assisted Photon Echo spectroscopy (GRAPE), eliminates phase errors deleterious to Fourier spectroscopies while reducing the acquisition time by orders of magnitude using only conventional optical components. In analogy to MRI in which magnetic field gradients are used to create spatial correlation maps, GRAPE spectroscopy takes advantage of a similar type of spatial encoding to construct electronic correlation maps. Unlike magnetic resonance, however, this spatial encoding of the nonlinear polarization along the excitation frequency axis of the two-dimensional spectrum results in no loss in signal while simultaneously reducing overall noise. Correlating the energy transfer events and electronic coupling occurring in tens of femtoseconds with slow dynamics on the subsecond time scale is fundamentally important in photobiology, solar energy research, nonlinear spectroscopy, and optoelectronic device characterization.

Influence of Vibronic Coupling on Band Structure and Exciton Self-Trapping in α-Perylene

Exciton sizes influence transport processes and spectroscopic phenomena in molecular aggregates and crystals. Thermally driven nuclear motion generally localizes electronic states in equilibrium systems. Exciton sizes also undergo dynamic changes caused by nonequilibrium relaxation in the lattice structure local to the photoexcitations (i.e., self-trapping). The α-phase of crystalline perylene is particularly well-suited for fundamental studies of exciton self-trapping mechanisms. It is generally agreed that a subpicosecond self-trapping process in α-perylene localizes photoexcited excitons onto pairs of closely spaced molecules (i.e., dimers), which then relax through excimer emission. Here, electronic relaxation dynamics in α-perylene single crystals are investigated using a variety of nonlinear optical spectroscopies in conjunction with a Frenkel exciton model. Linear absorption and photon echo spectroscopies suggest that excitons are delocalized over less than four unit cells (16 molecules) at 78 K prior to self-trapping. Stimulated Raman spectroscopies conducted on and off electronic resonance reveal significant vibronic coupling in a mode at 104 cm(-1), which corresponds to the displacement between perylene molecules comprising a dimer. Strong vibronic coupling in this mode suggests that motion along the interdimer axis is instrumental in driving the self-trapping process. The results are discussed in the context of our recent study of tetracene and rubrene single crystals in which similar experiments and models were employed.

Anharmonicity and mode-mode coupling effects analyzed by four-wave-mixing photon-echo spectroscopy

The present work is devoted to the description of a nonperturbative treatment of anharmonic effect and mode-mode coupling taking place in molecular vibrational systems. The information is obtained from the four-wave-mixing signal detected in the usual photon-echo phase-matched direction, termed 4WM photon-echo, using heterodyne detection to test separately the real and the imaginary parts of the third-order polarization. This approach allows a complete redistribution of the relaxation, dephasing, and transition constants on account of the magnitude of the coupling strength. In addition, our analytical approach accounts for the contributions provided by the various possible chronological orderings of the field interactions. The high sensitivity of the signal with both the energy shifts induced by the internal couplings and off-resonant energy parameter of the laser excitation is properly analyzed in the framework of our analytical description.

Direct quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical simulations of two-dimensional vibrational responses: N-methylacetamide in water

Multidimensional infrared (IR) spectroscopy has emerged as a viable tool to study molecular structure and dynamics in condensed phases, and the third-order vibrational response function is the central quantity underlying various nonlinear IR spectroscopic techniques, such as pump–probe, photon echo and two-dimensional (2D) IR spectroscopy. In this paper, a new computational method is presented that calculates this nonlinear response function in the classical limit from a series of classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, employing a quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) force field. The method relies on the stability matrix formalism where the dipole–dipole quantum mechanical commutators appearing in the exact quantum response function are replaced by the corresponding Poisson brackets. We present the formulation and computational algorithm of the method for both the classical and the QM/MM force fields and apply it to the 2D IR spectroscopy of carbon monoxide (CO) and N-methylacetamide (NMA), each solvated in a water cluster. The conventional classical force field with harmonic bond potentials is shown to be incapable of producing a reliable 2D IR signal because intramolecular vibrational anharmonicity, essential to the production of the nonlinear signal, is absent in such a model. The QM/MM force field, on the other hand, produces distinct 2D spectra for the NMA and CO systems with clear vertical splitting and cross peaks, reflecting the vibrational anharmonicities and the vibrational couplings between the underlying vibrational modes, respectively. In the NMA spectrum, the coupling between the amide I and II modes is also well reproduced. While attaining the converged spectrum is found to be challenging with this method, with an adequate amount of computing it can be straightforwardly applied to new systems containing multiple chromophores with little modeling effort, and therefore it would be useful in understanding the multimode 2D IR spectrum of complex molecular systems.

Molecular description of flexibility in an antibody combining site.

Mature antibodies (Abs) that are exquisitely specific for virtually any foreign molecule may be produced by affinity maturation of naïve (or germline) Abs. However, the finite number of germline Abs available suggests that, in contrast to mature Abs, germline Abs must be broadly polyspecific so that they are able to recognize a wide range of ligands. Thus, affinity maturation must play a role in mediating Ab specificity. One biophysical property that distinguishes polyspecificity from specificity is protein flexibility; a flexible combining site is able to adopt different conformations that recognize different foreign molecules (or antigens), while a rigid combining site is locked into a conformation that is specific for a given antigen. Recent studies (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2007, 104, 8821-8826) have examined, at the atomic level, the structural properties that mediate changes in flexibility at four stages of affinity maturation in the 4-4-20 Ab. These studies employed molecular dynamics simulations to reveal a network of residue interactions that mediate the flexibility changes accompanying maturation. The flexibility of the Ab combining sites in these molecular systems was originally measured using three-pulse photon echo spectroscopy (3PEPS). The present investigation extends this work by providing a concrete link between structural properties of the Ab molecules and features of the spectroscopic measurements used to characterize their flexibility. Results obtained from the simulations are in good qualitative agreement with the experimental measurements and indicate that the spectroscopic signal is sensitive to protein dynamics distributed throughout the entire combining site. Thus, the simulations provide a molecular-level interpretation of the changes induced by affinity maturation of the Ab. The results suggest that 3PEPS spectroscopy in combination with molecular dynamics simulations can provide a detailed description of protein dynamics and, in this case, how it is evolved for biological function.

Direct Evidence of Angular Jumps During Water Reorientation Through Two-Dimensional Infrared Anisotropy

Water reorientation was recently suggested via simulations to proceed through large angular jumps, but direct experimental evidence has so far remained elusive. Here we show that both infrared pump−probe and photon echo spectroscopies can provide such evidence through the measurement of the two-dimensional anisotropy decay. We calculate these two-dimensional anisotropies from simulations and show they can be interpreted as a vibrational frequency-resolved orientation time-correlation function. We develop a frequency-dependent extended jump model to predict the nature of the angular jump signature in these anisotropies. This model provides a rigorous and unambiguous connection between ultrafast infrared experimental results and the presence of angular jumps in bulk water, and calls for new experiments.

Water-Induced Relaxation of a Degenerate Vibration of Guanidinium Using 2D IR Echo Spectroscopy

The nearly degenerate asymmetric stretch vibrations near 1600 cm(-1) of the guanidinium cation in D-glycerol/D(2)O mixtures having different viscosity were studied by 2D IR photon echo spectroscopy. The polarization-dependent photon echo signal shows two separate frequency distributions in the 2D spectrum in D(2)O, even though only one band is evident from inspection of the linear FTIR spectrum. The split components are more clearly seen at higher viscosity where the distortion of the molecule from 3-fold symmetry is even more evident. The interactions with solvent induce energy transfer between the degenerate component modes on the time scale of 0.5 ps. The energy transfer between modes is directly observed in 2D IR and distinguished by the waiting time dependence of the cross peaks from the transfers between configurations of the distorted ion and solvent. The 2D IR analysis carried out for various polarization conditions gave frequency-frequency auto- and cross-correlation functions for the degenerate components which derive from the solvent induced wagging of the -ND(2) groups of the guanidinium ion.

Coherently wired light-harvesting in photosynthetic marine algae at ambient temperature

Photosynthesis makes use of sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into useful biomass and is vital for life on Earth. Crucial components for the photosynthetic process are antenna proteins, which absorb light and transmit the resultant excitation energy between molecules to a reaction centre. The efficiency of these electronic energy transfers has inspired much work on antenna proteins isolated from photosynthetic organisms to uncover the basic mechanisms at play. Intriguingly, recent work has documented that light-absorbing molecules in some photosynthetic proteins capture and transfer energy according to quantum-mechanical probability laws instead of classical laws at temperatures up to 180 K. This contrasts with the long-held view that long-range quantum coherence between molecules cannot be sustained in complex biological systems, even at low temperatures. Here we present two-dimensional photon echo spectroscopy measurements on two evolutionarily related light-harvesting proteins isolated from marine cryptophyte algae, which reveal exceptionally long-lasting excitation oscillations with distinct correlations and anti-correlations even at ambient temperature. These observations provide compelling evidence for quantum-coherent sharing of electronic excitation across the 5-nm-wide proteins under biologically relevant conditions, suggesting that distant molecules within the photosynthetic proteins are 'wired' together by quantum coherence for more efficient light-harvesting in cryptophyte marine algae.

Electronic photon echo spectroscopy and vibrations

Coupling between electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom in Rhodamine 800 has been studied using fluorescence line narrowing (FLN) and three-pulse photon echo peak shift (3PEPS). From the FLN measurement we extract the Huang-Rhys S-factors and frequencies of 16 Franck-Condon active vibrations clustered in two groups centred around 350 cm −1 and 1400 cm −1. The five modes below 500 cm −1 covered by the excitation pulse spectral band create a complex beating pattern in the 3PEPS measurements. After determining the reorganisation energy of the modes involved in the peak shift measurement we are able to obtain the S-factors of the modes. The S-factors from two different experiments are in good agreement. The dephasing rates of these vibrations deviate significantly from the band-gap law. We propose that the main channel for the dephasing of the modes above 225 cm −1 is a second order process involving one phonon and a molecular vibration.

Optical decoherence and persistent spectral hole burning in Er 3+:LiNbO 3

Developing new resonant optical materials for spatial-spectral holography and quantum information applications requires detailed knowledge of the decoherence and population relaxation dynamics for the quantum states involved in the optical transitions, motivating the need for fundamental material studies. We report recent progress in studying these properties in erbium-doped lithium niobate at liquid helium temperatures. The influence of temperature, applied magnetic fields, measurement timescale, and dopant concentration were probed using photon echo spectroscopy and time-resolved spectral hole burning on the 1532 nm transition of Er 3+:LiNbO 3. Effects of spectral diffusion due to interactions between Er 3+ ions and between the Er 3+ ion and 7Li and 93Nb nuclear spins in the host lattice were observed. In addition, long-lived persistent spectral storage of seconds to minutes was observed due to non-equilibrium population redistribution among superhyperfine states.

Ultrafast Electronic Dephasing in Low Temperature Saccharide Glasses Measured by Photon Echo Spectroscopy

Ultrafast Electronic Dephasing in Low Temperature Saccharide Glasses Measured by Photon Echo Spectroscopy

Spectroscopic investigations of a [formula omitted] waveguide for photon-echo quantum memory

We report the fabrication and characterization of a Ti 4 + : Tm 3 + : LiNbO 3 optical waveguide in view of photon-echo quantum memory applications. Specifically, we investigated room- and cryogenic-temperature properties of the waveguide, and the Tm 3 + ions, via absorption, spectral hole burning, photon echo, and Stark spectroscopy. For the Tm 3 + ions, we found radiative lifetimes of 82 μ s and 2.4 ms for the H 4 3 and F 4 3 levels, respectively, and a 44% branching ratio from the H 4 3 to the F 4 3 level. We also measured an optical coherence time of 1.6 μ s for the H 6 3 ↔ H 4 3 , 795 nm wavelength transition, and investigated the limitation of spectral diffusion to spectral hole burning. Upon application of magnetic fields of a few hundred Gauss, we observed persistent spectral holes with lifetimes up to seconds. Furthermore, we measured a linear Stark shift of 25 kHz cm / V . Our results are promising for integrated, electro-optical, waveguide quantum memory for photons.

91. Ultrafast electronic dephasing in low temperature saccharide glasses measured by photon echo spectroscopy

91. Ultrafast electronic dephasing in low temperature saccharide glasses measured by photon echo spectroscopy

Nature of Excited States and Relaxation Mechanisms in C-Phycocyanin

The electronic structure and photoinduced relaxation dynamics of the cyanobacterial light harvesting protein, C-Phycocyanin (CPC), are examined using transient grating and two-dimensional (2D) photon echo spectroscopies possessing sub-20 fs time resolution. In combination with linear absorption and fluorescence measurements, these time-resolved experiments are used to constrain the parameters of a Frenkel exciton Hamiltonian. Particular emphasis is placed on elucidating the nature of excited states involving the alpha84 and beta84 phycocyanobilin pigment dimers of CPC. This paper obtains new experimental evidence suggesting that electronic relaxation proceeds by way of incoherent energy transfer between the alpha84 and beta84 pigment sites (i.e., the weak coupling limit of energy transfer). Transient absorption anisotropies simulated in the weak coupling limit agree well with measurements, whereas signals computed in an exciton basis possess short-lived (electronic) coherent components not present in the experimental data. In addition, 2D photon echo spectra for CPC show no sign of the interfering nonlinearities predicted by a theoretical model to be characteristic of exciton formation. Another important new observation is that the sub-100 fs dynamics in the transient absorption anisotropy are dominated by an impulsively excited hydrogen out-of-plane wagging mode similar to those observed in phytochrome and retinal. Detection of this 795 cm(-1) coherence is of particular interest because our recent study of a closely related protein, Allophycocyanin (APC), assigns a similar coordinate as a promoting mode enabling ultrafast internal conversion. Together, the experiments conducted for APC and CPC suggest that interactions between the pigments and environment are the key to understanding why electronic relaxation in CPC is more than three times slower than APC despite the nearly identical geometries of the pigment dimers. Most important in reaching this conclusion is the present finding that relaxation of the 2D photon echo line shapes of CPC is approximately two times faster than that measured for APC. Overall, the present results underscore the ability of phycobiliproteins to control light harvesting dynamics through solvation and variation in the conformations of open-chain tetrapyrrole chromophores.

Exciton Coherence and Energy Transport in the Light-Harvesting Dimers of Allophycocyanin

Femtosecond transient grating and photon echo spectroscopies with a sub-20 fs time resolution are applied to allophycocyanin (APC), a protein located at the base of the phycobilisome antenna of cyanobacteria. Coupling between pairs of phycocyanobilin pigments with nondegenerate energy levels gives rise to the four-level exciton electronic structure of APC. Spectroscopic signals obtained in multiple experiments (e.g., linear absorption, fluorescence, transient grating, 2D Fourier transform photon echo) are used to constrain the parameters of a Frenkel exciton Hamiltonian. Comparison between experiment and theory yields a robust microscopic understanding of the electronic and nuclear relaxation dynamics. In agreement with previous work, transient absorption anisotropy establishes that internal conversion between the exciton states of the dimer occurs with time constants of 35, 220, and 280 fs. The sub-100 fs dynamics are decomposed into three distinct relaxation processes: electronic population transfer, intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution, and the dephasing of electronic and nuclear coherences. Model calculations show that the sub-100 fs red-shift in the transient absorption signal spectrum reflects interference between stimulated emission (ESE) and excited state absorption (ESA) signal components. It is also established that the pigment fluctuations in the dimer are not well-correlated, although further experiments will be required to precisely quantify the amount of correlation. The findings of this paper suggest that the light harvesting function of APC is enhanced by nondegeneracy of the pigments comprising the dimer and strong vibronic coupling of intramolecular modes on the phycocyanobilins. We find that the exciton states are 96% localized to the individual molecular sites within a particular dimer. Localization of the transition densities, in turn, is suggested to promote significant vibronic coupling which serves to both broaden the absorption line shape and open channels for fast internal conversion. The dominant internal conversion channel is assigned to a promoting mode near 800 cm(-1) involving hydrogen out-of-plane (HOOP) wagging motion similar to that observed in phytochrome and retinal. This rate enhancement ensures that all photoexcitations quickly and efficiently relax to the electronic origin of the lower energy exciton state from which energy transfer to the reaction center occurs.