Related papers: Noise-induced quantum coherence in photosynthetic …
Excitation of molecules by incident incoherent electromagnetic radiation, such as sunlight, is described in detail and contrasted with the effect of coherent (e.g. laser) light. The nature of the quantum coherences induced by the former,…
Recent observations of coherence in photosynthetic complexes have led to the question of whether quantum effects can occur in vivo, not under femtosecond laser pulses but in incoherent sunlight and at steady state, and, if so, whether the…
During the long course of evolution, nature has learnt how to exploit quantum effects. In fact, recent experiments reveal the existence of quantum processes whose coherence extends over unexpectedly long time and space ranges. In…
We consider incoherent excitation of multilevel quantum systems, e.g. molecules with multiple vibronic states. We show that (1) the geometric constraints of the matter-field coupling operator guarantee that noise-induced coherences will be…
Engineering and harnessing coherent excitonic transport in organic nanostructures has recently been suggested as a promising way towards improving man-made light harvesting materials. However, realising and testing the dissipative…
The relations between quantum coherence and quantum interference are discussed. A general method for generation of quantum coherence through interference-induced state selection is introduced and then applied to `simple' atomic systems…
In this paper we consider dynamics of a molecular system subjected to external pumping by a light source. Within a completely quantum mechanical treatment, we derive a general formula, which enables to asses effects of different light…
Stunningly large exciton transfer rates in the light harvesting complex of photosynthesis, together with recent experimental 2D spectroscopic data, have spurred a vivid debate on the possible quantum origin of such efficiency. Here we show…
Understanding how the effectiveness of natural photosynthetic energy harvesting systems arises from the interplay between quantum coherence and environmental noise represents a significant challenge for quantum theory. Recently it has begun…
Fluctuations in the energy gap and coupling constants in and between chromophores can play important role in the absorption and energy transfer across a collection of two level systems. In a noisy environment, fluctuations can control…
Excitation of a model photosynthetic molecular aggregate by incoherent sunlight is systematically examined. For a closed system, the excited state coherence induced by the sunlight oscillates with an average amplitude that is inversely…
We explore the mechanism for the long-lived quantum coherence by considering the discrete phonon modes: these vibrational modes effectively weaken the exciton-environment interaction, due to the new composite (polaron) formed by excitons…
Answering the titular question has become a central motivation in the field of quantum biology, ever since the idea was raised following a series of experiments demonstrating wave-like behavior in photosynthetic complexes. Here, we report a…
The modification of the quantum properties of coherence of photons through their interaction with matter lies at the heart of the quantum theory of light. Indeed, the absorption and emission of photons by atoms can lead to different kinds…
Recent ultrafast optical experiments show that excitons in large biological light-harvesting complexes are coupled to molecular vibration modes. These high-frequency vibrations will not only affect the optical response, but also drive the…
Light-harvesting via the transport and trapping of optically-induced electronic excitations is of fundamental interest to the design of new energy efficient quantum technologies. Using a paradigmatic quantum optical model, we study the…
Experimental evidence shows that a variety of photosynthetic systems can preserve quantum beats in the process of electronic energy transfer, even at room temperature. However, whether this quantum coherence arises in vivo and whether it…
In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate an oscillating energy shift of quantum-confined exciton levels in a semiconductor quantum well after excitation into a superposition of two quantum confined exciton states of different parity.…
We show that a pulsed stimulus can be used to generate many-body quantum coherences in light-matter systems of general size. Specifically, we calculate the exact real-time evolution of a driven, generic out-of-equilibrium system comprising…
The quantum dynamics of entanglement is widely revealed in photosynthetic light-harvesting complexes. Different from the previous work, we explore the properties of exciton transport and photosynthesis assisted by the quantum entanglement…