Bacteriochlorophyll
a (BChla) is the most abundant pigment found
in the Bacterial Reaction Center (BRC) and light-harvesting proteins
of photosynthetic purple and green bacteria. Recent two-dimensional
electronic spectroscopy (2DES) studies of photosynthetic pigment–protein
complexes including the BRC and the Fenna–Matthews–Olson
(FMO) complex have shown oscillatory signals, or coherences, whose
physical origin has been hotly debated. To better understand the observations
of coherence in larger photosynthetic systems, it is important to
carefully characterize the spectroscopic signatures of the monomeric
pigments. Prior spectroscopic studies of BChla have differed significantly
in their observations, with some studies reporting little to no coherence.
Here we present evidence of strong coherences in monomeric BChla in
isopropanol using 2DES at 77 K. We resolve many modes with frequencies
that correspond well with known vibrational modes. We confirm their
vibrational origin by comparing the 2D spectroscopic signatures with
expectations based on a purely vibrational model.