Related papers: The Quantum Compass Mechanism in Cryptochromes
Birds have a remarkable ability to obtain navigational information from the Earth's magnetic field. The primary detection mechanism of this compass sense is uncertain but appears to involve the quantum spin dynamics of radical pairs formed…
Photoreduction of cryptochrome protein in the retina is a well-known mechanism of navigation of birds through the geomagnetic field, yet the biosignal nature of the mechanism remains unclear. The absorption of blue light by the flavin…
Sensing of the geomagnetic field direction by many living organisms is commonly thought to involve radical pairs, such as those formed photochemically between the flavin and tryptophan radicals in the cryptochrome proteins. Previous…
The mechanism used by migratory birds to orientate themselves using the geomagnetic field is still a mystery in many species. The radical pair mechanism, in which very weak magnetic fields can influence certain types of spin-dependent…
One of the principal models of magnetic sensing in migratory birds rests on the quantum spin-dynamics of transient radical pairs created photochemically in ocular cryptochrome proteins. We consider here the role of electron spin…
The mechanism underlying magnetoreception has long eluded explanation. A popular hypothesis attributes this sense to the quantum coherent spin dynamics of spin-selective recombination reactions of radical pairs in the protein cryptochrome.…
Creatures as varied as mammals, fish, insects, reptiles, and migratory birds have an intriguing `sixth' sense that allows them to distinguish north from south by using the Earth's intrinsic magnetic field. Yet despite decades of study, the…
Magnetosensitive spin-correlated radical-pairs (SCRPs) offer a promising platform for noise-robust quantum metrology. However, unavoidable interradical interactions, such as electron-electron dipolar and exchange couplings, alongside…
Quantum sensing enables the ultimate precision attainable in parameter estimation. Circumstantial evidence suggests that certain organisms, most notably migratory songbirds, also harness quantum-enhanced magnetic field sensing via a…
Radical pair recombination reactions are known to be sensitive to extremely weak magnetic fields, and can therefore be said to function as molecular magnetoreceptors. The classic example is a carotenoid-porphyrin-fullerene (C+PF-) radical…
We review the spin radical pair mechanism which is a promising explanation of avian navigation. This mechanism is based on the dependence of product yields on (1) the hyperfine interaction involving electron spins and neighboring nuclear…
A quantum-based magnetic compass sensor, mediated through radical pair reactions, has been suggested to underlie the sensory ability of migrating birds to receive directional information from the geomagnetic field. Here we extend the…
The Radical Pair Mechanism is a canonical model for the magnetosensitivity of chemical reaction processes. The key ingredient of this model is the hyperfine interaction that induces a coherent mixing of singlet and triplet electron spin…
The primary step in the elusive ability of migratory birds to sense weak Earth-strength magnetic fields is supposedly the light-induced formation of a long-lived, magnetically sensitive radical pair inside a cryptochrome flavoprotein…
Recent studies in vitro and in vivo suggest that flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) on its own might be able to act as a biological magnetic field sensor. Motivated by these observations, in this study, we develop a detailed quantum…
The light-dependent magnetic compass of night-migratory songbirds is widely hypothesized to rely on the radical pair mechanism within retinal cryptochrome. However, bridging the mechanistic gap between microsecond quantum spin dynamics and…
A popular hypothesis ascribes magnetoreception to a magnetosensitive recombination reaction of a pair of radicals in the protein cryptochrome. Many theoretical studies of this model have ignored inter-radical interactions, particularly the…
Migratory birds and other species have the ability to navigate by sensing the geomagnetic field. Recent experiments indicate that the essential process in the navigation takes place in bird's eye and uses chemical reaction involving…
Magnetic fields as weak as Earth's may affect the outcome of certain photochemical reactions that go through a radical pair intermediate. When the reaction environment is anisotropic, this phenomenon can form the basis of a chemical compass…
Radical pairs and the dynamics they undergo are prevalent in many chemical and biological systems. Specifically, it has been proposed that the radical pair mechanism results from a relatively strong hyperfine interaction with its intrinsic…