Abstract

When azide binds to ferric Myoglobin it forms either a low-spin or a high-spin complex, which give rise to two well-separated asymmetric stretch bands of the ligand. Both electronic excitation of the Q-band and vibrational excitation of View the MathML source in the mid-IR lead to a similar ultrafast population redistribution in favor of the high spin configuration, which is characterized by a 8° reorientation of the ligand transition dipole moment. The more stable low spin complex subsequently re-emerges with a 18 ps time-constant. It is argued that the observed spin state changes are caused by the participation of low-lying electronic excitations in the cooling process of heme.