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Simulating polaron biophysics with Rydberg atoms.

Marcin Płodzień^1,2, Tomasz Sowiński³, Servaas Kokkelmans⁴

¹Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO Box 513, Eindhoven, 5600 MB, The Netherlands. marcin.plodzien@ifpan.edu.pl.

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|June 20, 2018

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers used ultracold Rydberg atoms in a quantum simulator to observe Davydov phenomena in proteins, offering direct insights into biophysical transport previously unobserved experimentally.

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Area of Science:

Quantum physics
Biophysics
Condensed matter physics

Background:

Protein excitation transport can be modeled using quantum physics, considering structural periodicity and vibrational modes.
Exact numerical solutions are computationally intensive on classical computers.
The Davydov ansatz suggests stabilized solitonic excitations, but experimental evidence is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose and demonstrate a quantum simulator for studying biophysical transport phenomena.
To experimentally observe Davydov phenomena in a controllable system.
To explore regimes beyond perturbative descriptions in polaron physics.

Main Methods:

Utilizing a quantum simulator based on a chain of ultracold dressed Rydberg atoms.
Mimicking the Davydov equations and their solutions within the quantum simulator.
Investigating the intermediate polaron regimes inaccessible to perturbative methods.

Main Results:

Demonstrated an experimentally accessible parameter range where the quantum simulator directly replicates Davydov dynamics.
Provided a platform for direct observation of solitonic excitations in a protein-like system.
Gained access to the crossover regime between small and large polarons.

Conclusions:

Quantum simulators offer a viable experimental approach to study complex quantum phenomena in biological systems.
The proposed Rydberg atom system can directly observe and verify theoretical models like the Davydov ansatz.
This approach extends our understanding of energy transport and polaron physics in condensed matter and biophysics.