Abstract
The problem of electromagnetic optimization of the structure of light-harvesting proteins is studied within a simplified diffraction scheme. It is suggested that evolutionary pressures for protein antennae has resulted in molecular strucures that optimize the absorption in the light-sensitive pigments. Bacteriorhodopsin is shown to be an exceptional case in terms of optimization, a fact that can be connected to its extremely high sensitivity as a light detector down to a single photon level.
- Received 22 October 2002
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.67.022902
©2003 American Physical Society
