An efficient approach to the quantum dynamics and rates of processes induced by natural incoherent light
Abstract
In many important cases, the rate of excitation of a system embedded in an environment is significantly smaller than the internal system relaxation rates. An important example is that of light-induced processes under natural conditions, in which the system is excited by weak, incoherent (e.g., solar) radiation. Simulating the dynamics on the time scale of the excitation source can thus be computationally intractable. Here we describe a method for obtaining the dynamics of quantum systems without directly solving the master equation. We present an algorithm for the numerical implementation of this method and, as an example, use it to reconstruct the internal conversion dynamics of pyrazine excited by sunlight. Significantly, this approach also allows us to assess the role of quantum coherence on biological time scales, which is a topic of ongoing interest.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Sep 18, 2018
- Source ID
- 10.1063/1.5041005
Entities
People
- Paul Brumer
- Simon Axelrod
Organizations
- United States Air Force
- University of Toronto