Dynamics of the Davydov-Scott monomer in a thermal bath: Comparison of the full quantum and semiclassical approaches

Abstract

The quantum state diffusion equation is applied to the problem of energy transfer in proteins. Lindblad operators, capable of coupling the full quantum Davydov-Scott monomer to a thermal bath, are derived. Numerical simulations with the QSD equation show that the Lindblad operators derived do recreate the exact equilibrium ensemble for the Davydov-Scott monomer. Comparison of the results obtained with the full quantum and with the semiclassical systems shows that, at biological temperatures, the latter provides a good approximation of the former. © 2007 The American Physical Society.