Department of Physics Papers
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
2018
Publication Source
Biophysical Journal
Volume
115
Start Page
167
Last Page
172
DOI
10.1016/j.bpj.2018.01.010
Abstract
Resonance energy transfer has become an indispensable experimental tool for single-molecule and single-cell biophysics. Its physical underpin- nings, however, are subtle: It involves a discrete jump of excitation from one molecule to another, and so we regard it as a strongly quantum- mechanical process. And yet, its kinetics differ from what many of us were taught about two-state quantum systems; quantum superpositions of the states do not seem to arise; and so on. Although J. R. Oppenheimer and T. Förster navigated these subtleties successfully, it remains hard to find an elementary derivation in modern language. The key step involves acknowledging quantum decoherence. Appreciating that aspect can be helpful when we attempt to extend our understanding to situations where Fo ̈rster’s original analysis is not applicable.
Keywords
Forster resonance transfer, resonance energy transfer
Recommended Citation
Nelson, P. C. (2018). The Role of Quantum Decoherence in FRET. Biophysical Journal, 115 167-172. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2018.01.010
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Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Commons, Biological and Chemical Physics Commons, Optics Commons
Date Posted: 04 September 2018