[MOS] 11/17 - Modern Optics and Spectroscopy Seminar with Gilad Haran (Weizmann Institute)

[Christine Brooks]

There will be a virtual Modern Optics and Spectroscopy Seminar held next Tuesday, November 17 at 12pm. A Q&A segment will immediately follow the conclusion of the seminar.

Zoom link:
https://mit.zoom.us/j/99877133683?pwd=SStVTW4vY25UUGFySXhwc3FuV3UzUT09
Password: 794455
__________________________
Gilad Haran
Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel)

“Single-particle spectroscopy: from quantum plasmonics to microsecond protein dynamics”

Single-particle spectroscopy has been a driving force for progress in chemical and biological physics in the last 20 years. In this lecture, I will describe two projects where methods development has led us into new exciting realms of science at the level of the individual particle/molecule. I will first talk about our efforts to marry quantum optics with plasmonics and generate tiny optical cavities that can couple light to colloidal quantum dots in order to drive strong-coupling phenomena at room temperature (1, 2). I will then switch gears and demonstrate how photon-by-photon single-molecule FRET probes large-scale protein dynamics. The motion of protein domains is essential for their function, and theory suggests that it can occur on the microsecond time scale, several orders of magnitude faster than functional cycles. I will show that this is indeed the case with a couple of experimental examples and point to novel potential roles for fast dynamics (3).

1.           Santhosh K, Bitton O, Chuntonov L, & Haran G (2016) Vacuum Rabi splitting in a plasmonic cavity at the single quantum emitter limit. Nature communications 7:ncomms11823.
2.           Bitton O, Gupta SN, Houben L, Kvapil M, Krapek V, Sikola T, & Haran G (2020) Vacuum Rabi splitting of a dark plasmonic cavity mode revealed by fast electrons. Nature communications 11(1):487.
3.           Haran G & Mazal H (2020) How fast are the motions of tertiary-structure elements in proteins? J Chem Phys153(13):130902.


Christine Brooks
Administrative Assistant
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Department of Chemistry
77 Massachusetts Ave, 6-333
Cambridge, MA 02139
p: 617.253.7239
e: cbrooks at mit.edu<mailto:cbrooks at mit.edu>

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