The Influence of Electronic Polarization on Nonlinear Optical Spectroscopy

The environment surrounding a chromophore can dramatically affect the energy absorption and relaxation process, as manifested in optical spectra. Simulations of nonlinear optical spectroscopy, such as two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES) and transient absorption (TA), will be influenced by the computational model of the environment. We here compare a fixed point charge molecular mechanics model and a quantum mechanical (QM) model of the environment in computed 2DES and TA spectra of Nile red in water and the chromophore of photoactive yellow protein (PYP) in water and protein environments. In addition to simulating these nonlinear optical spectra, we directly juxtapose the computed excitation energy correlation function to the dynamic Stokes shift function often used to analyze environment dynamics. Overall, we find that for the three systems studied here the mutual electronic polarization provided by the QM environment manifests in broader 2DES signals, as well as a larger reorganization energy and a larger static Stokes shift due to stronger coupling between the chromophore and the environment.