  Inelastic electron transfer being regarded as one of the potential mechanisms
to explain the odorant recognition in the atomic-scale processes is still a
matter of intense debate. Here, we propose multiphonon processes of electrons
transfer using the Markvart model and calculate their lifetimes with values of
key parameters widely adopted in olfactory systems. We find that these
multiphonon processes are as quickly as the single phonon process, which
suggest that contributions from different phonon modes of odorant molecule for
electrons transfer in olfaction should be included. Meanwhile, temperature
dependence of electron transfer could be analyzed effectively based on the
reorganization energy is expanded into the linewidth of multiphonon processes.
Our theoretical results not only enrich the knowledge of the mechanism of the
olfaction recognition, but also provide insights for quantum processes in the
biological system.
