Dynamical Decoherence and Memory Effects in Green Fluorescent Proteins by Dielectric Relaxation

Abstract

In this article, we explore the dynamical decoherence of the chromophores within a green fluorescent protein when coupled to a finite-temperature dielectric environment. Such systems are of significant interest due to their anomalously long coherence lifetimes compared to other biomolecules. We work within the spin-boson model and employ the Hierarchical Equations of Motion formalism which allows for the accounting of the full non-perturbative and non-Markovian characteristics of the system dynamics. We analyse the level coherence of independent green fluorescent protein chromophores and the energy transfer dynamics in homo-dimer green fluorescent proteins, focusing on the effect of dielectric relaxation on the timescales of these systems. Using the Fluctuation-Dissipation theorem, we generate spectral densities from local electric susceptibility generated from Poisson's equation and employ a Debye dielectric model for the solvent environment. For different system architectures, we identify a number of very striking features in the dynamics of the chromophore induced by the dielectric relaxation of the environment, resulting in strong memory effects that extend the coherence lifetime of the system. Remarkably, the complex architecture of the green fluorescent protein, which includes a cavity-like structure around the atomic system, is well suited to preserving the coherences in the homo-dimer system. The system dynamics generate a dynamical correlation between the coherent energy transfer between its sub-systems and the entropy production, which can lead to transient reductions in entropy, a unique feature of the non-Markovian nature of the system-environment interaction.