@article{KroenerGoetze2012,
  author    = {Kr{\"o}ner, Dominik and G{\"o}tze, Jan Philipp},
  title     = {Modeling of a violaxanthin-chlorophyll b chromophore pair in its LHCII environment using CAM-B3LYP},
  series = {Journal of photochemistry and photobiology : B, Biology},
  volume    = {109},
  journal   = {Journal of photochemistry and photobiology : B, Biology},
  number    = {2},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Lausanne},
  issn      = {1011-1344},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2011.12.007},
  pages     = {12 -- 19},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Collecting energy for photosystem II is facilitated by several pigments, xanthophylls and chlorophylls, embedded in the light harvesting complex II (LHCII). One xanthophyll, violaxanthin (Vio), is loosely bound at a site close to a chlorophyll b (Chl). No final answer has yet been found for the role of this specific xanthophyll. We study the electronic structure of Vio in the presence of Chl and under the influence of the LHCII environment, represented by a point charge field (PCF). We compare the capability of the long range corrected density functional theory (DFT) functional CAM-B3LYP to B3LYP for the modeling of the UV/vis spectrum of the Vio + Chl pair. CAM-B3LYP was reported to allow for a very realistic reproduction of bond length alternation of linear polyenes, which has considerable impact on the carotenoid structure and spectrum. To account for the influence of the LHCII environment, the chromophore geometries are optimized using an ONIOM(DFT/6-31G(d):PM6) scheme. Our calculations show that the energies of the locally excited states are almost unaffected by the presence of the partner chromophore or the PCF. There are, however, indications for excitonic coupling of the Chl Soret band and Vio. We propose that Vio may accept energy from blue-light excited Chl.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BanerjeeKroenerSaalfrank2012,
  author    = {Banerjee, Shiladitya and Kr{\"o}ner, Dominik and Saalfrank, Peter},
  title     = {Resonance Raman and vibronic absorption spectra with Duschinsky rotation from a time-dependent perspective application to beta-carotene},
  series = {The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr},
  volume    = {137},
  journal   = {The journal of chemical physics : bridges a gap between journals of physics and journals of chemistr},
  number    = {22},
  publisher = {American Institute of Physics},
  address   = {Melville},
  issn      = {0021-9606},
  doi       = {10.1063/1.4748147},
  pages     = {9},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {The time-dependent approach to electronic spectroscopy, as popularized by Heller and co-workers in the 1980s, is applied here in conjunction with linear-response, time-dependent density functional theory to study vibronic absorption and resonance Raman spectra of beta-carotene, with and without a solvent. Two-state models, the harmonic and the Condon approximations are used in order to do so. A new code has been developed which includes excited state displacements, vibrational frequency shifts, and Duschinsky rotation, i.e., mode mixing, for both non-adiabatic spectroscopies. It is shown that Duschinsky rotation has a pronounced effect on the resonance Raman spectra of beta-carotene. In particular, it can explain a recently found anomalous behaviour of the so-called nu(1) peak in resonance Raman spectra [N. Tschirner, M. Schenderlein, K. Brose, E. Schlodder, M. A. Mroginski, C. Thomsen, and P. Hildebrandt, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 11, 11471 (2009)], which shifts with the change in excitation wavelength.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KlaumuenzerKroenerLischkaetal.2012,
  author    = {Klaum{\"u}nzer, Bastian and Kr{\"o}ner, Dominik and Lischka, Hans and Saalfrank, Peter},
  title     = {Non-adiabatic excited state dynamics of riboflavin after photoexcitation},
  series = {Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies},
  volume    = {14},
  journal   = {Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies},
  number    = {24},
  publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry},
  address   = {Cambridge},
  issn      = {1463-9076},
  doi       = {10.1039/c2cp40978j},
  pages     = {8693 -- 8702},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Flavins are chromophores in light-gated enzymes and therefore central in many photobiological processes. To unravel the optical excitation process as the initial, elementary step towards signal transduction, detailed ultrafast (femtosecond) experiments probing the photo-activation of flavins have been carried out recently [Weigel et al., J. Phys. Chem. B, 2011, 115, 3656-3680.]. The present paper contributes to a further understanding and interpretation of these experiments by studying the post-excitation vibrational dynamics of riboflavin (RF) and microsolvated riboflavin, RF center dot 4H(2)O, using first principles non-adiabatic molecular dynamics. By analyzing the characteristic atom motions and calculating time-resolved stimulated emission spectra following pi pi* excitation, it is found that after optical excitation C-N and C-C vibrations in the isoalloxazine rings of riboflavin set in. The Franck-Condon (vertically excited) state decays within about 10 fs, in agreement with experiment. Anharmonic coupling leads to Intramolecular Vibrational energy Redistribution (IVR) on the timescale of about 80-100 fs, first to (other) C-C stretching modes of the isoalloxazine rings, then by energy spread over the whole molecule, including low-frequency in-plane modes. The IVR is accompanied by a red-shift and broadening of the emission spectrum. When RF is microsolvated with four water molecules, an overall redshift of optical spectra by about 20 nm is observed but the relaxation dynamics is only slightly affected. For several trajectories, a tendency for hydrogen transfer from water to flavin-nitrogen (N-5) was found.},
  language  = {en}
}