Two-level system with a thermally fluctuating transfer matrix element: Application to the problem of DNA charge transfer
Soft Condensed Matter
2009-11-07 v1 Biomolecules
Abstract
Charge transfer along the base-pair stack in DNA is modeled in terms of thermally-assisted tunneling between adjacent base pairs. Central to our approach is the notion that tunneling between fluctuating pairs is rate-limited by the requirement of their optimal alignment. We focus on this aspect of the process by modeling two adjacent base pairs in terms of a classical damped oscillator subject to thermal fluctuations as described by a Fokker-Planck equation. We find that the process is characterized by two time scales, a result that is in accord with experimental findings.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0207654,
title = {Two-level system with a thermally fluctuating transfer matrix element: Application to the problem of DNA charge transfer},
author = {Maria R. D'Orsogna and Joseph Rudnick},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0207654},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
original file is revtex4, 10 pages, three eps figures