ATP synthesis and the acceleration of the decay of the carotenoid absorption band shift after single flash excitation of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata chromatophores were compared. The two processes behave similarly with respect to: (1) ADP and Pi concentration; (2) inhibition by efrapeptin and venturicidin, and (3) inhibition by valinomycin/K+ and by ionophores. Taken together with earlier evidence for the electrochromic nature of the carotenoid band shift the data support the contention that positive charge moves outwards across the chromatophore membrane during ATP synthesis and justify the method for determination of the H+/ATP ratio (Petty, K.M. and Jackson, J.B. (1979) FEBS Lett. 97, 367-372). The ability of nucleotide diphosphates in the presence of Pi and Mg2+ to give rise to the acceleration of the carotenoid shift decay closely correlates with the rate of phosphorylation of the nucleotides in steady-state light. Nucleotide triphosphates enhance the decay in parallel with their rate of hydrolysis. Adenylyl imidodiphosphate is itself without effect on the decay of the carotenoid shift and it does not prevent the ADP-induced acceleration. The analogue does prevent the ATP effect but only after repeated flashes.