Could light harvesting complexes exhibit non-classical effects at room temperature?
Abstract
Mounting experimental and theoretical evidence suggests that coherent quantum effects play a role in the efficient transfer of an excitation from a chlorosome antenna to a reaction center in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson protein complex. However, it is conceivable that a satisfying alternate interpretation of the results is possible in terms of a classical theory. To address this possibility, we consider a class of classical theories satisfying the minimal postulates of macrorealism and frame Leggett-Garg-type tests that could rule them out. Our numerical simulations indicate that even in the presence of decoherence, several tests could exhibit the required violations of the Leggett-Garg inequality. Remarkably, some violations persist even at room temperature for our decoherence model.
Cite
@article{arxiv.0911.1097,
title = {Could light harvesting complexes exhibit non-classical effects at room temperature?},
author = {Mark M. Wilde and James M. McCracken and Ari Mizel},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0911.1097},
year = {2010}
}
Comments
10 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, submitted to the Proceedings of the Royal Society A