Table 1.
Terms and formulae used in the analysis of the fast chlorophyll a fluorescence
| Term and formulae | Definition |
|---|---|
| Fo | Fluorescence emitted when all reaction centres (RCs) are open |
| Fm | Maximum fluorescence emitted when all RCs are closed |
| Fv = Fm—Fo | Maximum variable fluorescence |
| Fv/Fm = 1—(Fo/Fm) | Maximum quantum yield of primary photochemistry |
| Tfm | Time to reach Fm |
| Area | Total complementary area between fluorescence induction curve and F = Fm |
| RC/ABS | Reaction centres per adsorption of light energy |
| Fv/Fo | Conformation term for the primary photochemistry (curvature constant of the hyperbole) |
| PI | Performance index |
| Fo/Fm | Fluorescence of all open RCs/ Fluorescence of all closed RCs |
| M0 = TR0 /RC—ET0 /RC | Normalized value of the initial slope of the fluorescence induction curve (it expresses the net rate of the RCs’ closure) |
| Sm = Area/(Fm—Fo) | Normalized Area by Fv (it gives a measure of the energy needed to close all reaction centres) |
| Ss = (M0/VJ)−1 | Normalized Area per single turn-over |
| ABS/RC = (M0/Vj)/(Fv/Fm) | Absorption flux per RC (at t = 0) |
| TR0/RC = M0/Vj | Trapped energy flux per RC (at t = 0) |
| ET0/RC = M0/Vj Ψ0 | Electron transport flux per RC (at t = 0) |
| DI0/RC = (ABS/RC)—(TR0/RC) | Dissipated energy flux per RC (at t = 0) |
| ABS/CS ≈ Fo | Absorption flux per cross section (CS), approximated by Fo |
| RC/CS = (ABS/CS)/(ABS/RC) | RCs’ concentration (or density) per excited CS |
| TR0/CS = TR0/ABS (ABS/CS0) | Trapped energy flux per CS (at t = 0) |
| ET0/CS = ET0/ABS (ABS/CS0) | Electron transport flux per CS (at t = 0) |
| DI0/CS = (ABS/CS0)—(TR0/CS0) | Dissipated energy flux per CS (at t = 0) |
| RC/CSo | RCs’ concentration (or density) per excited CS (Fo) |
| RC/CSm | RCs’ concentration (or density) per excited CS (Fm) |