Landscapes, Nonlinearity, and Biomolecular Energy Redistribution

Although selective energy redistribution is critical to the function of numerous biomolecules and functional nanomaterials, the processes mediating these dynamics remain a poorly understood facet of nonequilibrium thermodynamics. In this talk, I will discuss how topological features, nonlinearities, and energy landscape architecture can collude to define biomolecular heat propagation [1]. Our exhaustive all-atom simulations and novel local-in-time and space analysis - which is equally applicable to both theory and experiment - permit the multiscale dissection of energy migration in biomolecules. Unlike transport through small-molecule systems, we find that nonlinearity dominates over coherent processes at even at short length- and time-scales. Leveraging these observations, I will demonstrate how vibrational energy transport can probe otherwise inaccessible aspects of macromolecular dynamics and the interactions that underlie biological function.

[1] J. E. Elenewski, K. Velizhanin, and M. Zwolak, Nat. Commun. 10, 4662 (2019).