Holographic nature of critical quantum states of proteins

The Anderson metal-insulator transition is a fundamental phenomenon in condensed matter physics, describing the transition from a conducting (metallic) to a non-conducting (insulating) state driven by disorder in a material. At the critical point of the Anderson transition, wave functions exhibit mu...

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Main Authors: Eszter Papp, Gábor Vattay
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-01-01
Series:Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2001037025002120
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author Eszter Papp
Gábor Vattay
author_facet Eszter Papp
Gábor Vattay
author_sort Eszter Papp
collection DOAJ
description The Anderson metal-insulator transition is a fundamental phenomenon in condensed matter physics, describing the transition from a conducting (metallic) to a non-conducting (insulating) state driven by disorder in a material. At the critical point of the Anderson transition, wave functions exhibit multifractal behavior, and energy levels display a universal distribution, indicating non-trivial correlations in the eigenstates. Recent studies have shown that proteins, traditionally considered insulators, exhibit much higher conductivity than previously assumed. In this paper, we investigate several proteins known for their efficient electron transport properties. We compare their energy level statistics, eigenfunction correlation, and electron return probability to those expected in metallic, insulating, or critical states. Remarkably, these proteins exhibit properties of critically disordered metals in their natural state without any parameter adjustment. Their composition and geometry are self-organized into the critical state of the Anderson transition, and their fractal properties are universal and unique among critical systems. Our findings suggest that proteins' wave functions may fulfill “holographic” area laws, since their correlation fractal dimension is d2≈2.
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spelling doaj-art-41b7baad027c4401ac799c2a7cde94302025-08-20T03:19:56ZengElsevierComputational and Structural Biotechnology Journal2001-03702025-01-0130596310.1016/j.csbj.2025.05.049Holographic nature of critical quantum states of proteinsEszter Papp0Gábor Vattay1Corresponding author.; Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Institute for Physics and Astronomy, Eötvös Loránd University, H-1053 Budapest, Egyetem tér 1-3., HungaryCorresponding author.; Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Institute for Physics and Astronomy, Eötvös Loránd University, H-1053 Budapest, Egyetem tér 1-3., HungaryThe Anderson metal-insulator transition is a fundamental phenomenon in condensed matter physics, describing the transition from a conducting (metallic) to a non-conducting (insulating) state driven by disorder in a material. At the critical point of the Anderson transition, wave functions exhibit multifractal behavior, and energy levels display a universal distribution, indicating non-trivial correlations in the eigenstates. Recent studies have shown that proteins, traditionally considered insulators, exhibit much higher conductivity than previously assumed. In this paper, we investigate several proteins known for their efficient electron transport properties. We compare their energy level statistics, eigenfunction correlation, and electron return probability to those expected in metallic, insulating, or critical states. Remarkably, these proteins exhibit properties of critically disordered metals in their natural state without any parameter adjustment. Their composition and geometry are self-organized into the critical state of the Anderson transition, and their fractal properties are universal and unique among critical systems. Our findings suggest that proteins' wave functions may fulfill “holographic” area laws, since their correlation fractal dimension is d2≈2.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2001037025002120Anderson metal-insulator transitionProtein electron transportExtended Hückel methodCritical quantum statesMultifractality
spellingShingle Eszter Papp
Gábor Vattay
Holographic nature of critical quantum states of proteins
Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal
Anderson metal-insulator transition
Protein electron transport
Extended Hückel method
Critical quantum states
Multifractality
title Holographic nature of critical quantum states of proteins
title_full Holographic nature of critical quantum states of proteins
title_fullStr Holographic nature of critical quantum states of proteins
title_full_unstemmed Holographic nature of critical quantum states of proteins
title_short Holographic nature of critical quantum states of proteins
title_sort holographic nature of critical quantum states of proteins
topic Anderson metal-insulator transition
Protein electron transport
Extended Hückel method
Critical quantum states
Multifractality
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2001037025002120
work_keys_str_mv AT eszterpapp holographicnatureofcriticalquantumstatesofproteins
AT gaborvattay holographicnatureofcriticalquantumstatesofproteins