Analytical Model of Resonant Quantum Excitation Transport in Molecular Chains at finite Temperatures: Application of Integral Transforms

Abstract

This study investigates the potential impact of intramolecular excitations on the active regions of biomolecular chains, which may play a role in physiological processes within living cells. We assumed that an excitation localized in a specific chain segment can modify its physical properties (e.g., local charge distribution or electric dipole moments), thereby altering its role in biochemical processes. As a consequence, the biochemical functionality of the molecular chain may be altered, or even disrupted. Moreover, quantum resonance effects may cause an excitation induced at one structural element to delocalize and appear at a distant site, potentially affecting the functionality of regions located far from the site where the excitation was initially induced. To investigate this phenomenon, we developed and analyzed a theoretical model in which a single excitation is induced in a particular structural element of a finite molecular chain in thermal equilibrium with its environment. The interaction between the excitation and the thermal oscillations of the chain was taken into account. Differential equations for the correlation functions were derived and solved analytically using integral transformations, providing information on the probability of finding the excitation at each site of the chain. The results show that both the probability of finding the excitation at distant sites and its residence time depend on the chain's physical characteristics, temperature, and initial excitation location.