Investigating vibrational energy relaxation and collective motions in proteins

Abstract

Our recent studies on vibrational energy relaxation (VER) and collective motions in proteins are summarized. As a first topic, we discuss the validity of Fermi's golden rule for VER problems in proteins, and to get over this limitation, we apply the finite-time perturbation theory due to Okazaki's group to our VER problem of a localized mode in a protein. As a second topic, we discuss the dynamical effects of solvent water on the collective protein dynamics, employing several time series analysis methods such as principal component analysis and the power spectra of kinetic energies.