Time-dependent DFT-based study of bacteriochlorophyll a optical properties within the B800 part of Rhodoblastus acidophilus light-harvesting complex

We use time-dependent density functional theory-based approaches, TD-DFT and TD-DFTB, to investigate the optical absorption of B800 part of Rhodoblastus acidophilus light-harvesting complex 2 (LH2). Both methods are shown to give qualitative agreement with experimental spectra for a single BChl a molecule and for the optimized structure of B800 complex containing nine of such molecules. We proved the absence of any sizable effects originating from the interaction between adjacent molecules, thus optical features of B800 LH2 part should not be attributed to the structural organization of pigments. In addition, time-dependent procedure itself was found to be crucial for the correct description of BChl a absorption spectrum.