Tuesday, February 28, 2012

1106.1683 (Sarah Mostame et al.)

Quantum simulator of an open quantum system using superconducting
qubits: exciton transport in photosynthetic complexes
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Sarah Mostame, Patrick Rebentrost, Alexander Eisfeld, Andrew J. Kerman, Dimitris I. Tsomokos, Alán Aspuru-Guzik
Open quantum system approaches are widely used in the description of physical, chemical and biological systems. One famous example is electronic excitation transfer in the initial stage of photosynthesis, where light-harvested energy is transferred with remarkably high efficiency to a reaction center. This transport is assisted by a structured vibrational environment, which makes simulations on a classical computer very demanding. Here we propose an analog quantum simulator of open system dynamics, where engineering of the quantum environment has a central role. Our setup is based on superconducting circuits, a well established technology. As an example, we discuss the simulation of exciton transport in the Fenna-Matthew-Olson photosynthetic complex. Our method allows for a controllable single-molecule simulation and the investigation of energy transfer pathways as well as non-Markovian noise-correlation effects.
View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1106.1683

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