Spatial propagation of excitonic coherence enables ratcheted energy transfer

Abstract

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 has any biological function have remained unclear. Here we present a theoretical model that suggests that the creation and recreation of coherence under natural conditions is ubiquitous. Our model allows us to theoretically demonstrate a mechanism for a ratchet effect enabled by quantum coherence, in a design inspired by an energy transfer pathway in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex of the green sulfur bacteria. This suggests a possible biological role for coherent oscillations in spatially directing energy transfer. Our results emphasize the importance of analyzing long-range energy transfer in terms of transfer between inter-complex coupling (ICC) states rather than between site or exciton states.

Accepted version for Phys. Rev. E. 14 pages, 7 figures

References in corpus (4)

• Artificial Brownian motors: Controlling transport on the nanoscale
• Environment-Assisted Quantum Walks in Photosynthetic Energy Transfer
• A lattice of double wells for manipulating pairs of cold atoms
• Role of quantum coherence in chromophoric energy transport

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• Long-range coherent energy transport in Photosystem II
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• Non-Markovian quantum-classical ratchet for ultrafast long-range electron-hole separation in condensed phases
• Insights into photosynthetic energy transfer gained from free-energy structure: Coherent transport, incoherent hopping, and vibrational assistance revisited
• A probability current analysis of energy transport in open quantum systems
• Artificial Light Harvesting by Dimerized Mobius Ring
• Unraveling excitation energy transfer assisted by collective behaviors of vibrations
• Photo-activated biological processes as quantum measurements
• Inverting pump-probe spectroscopy for state tomography of excitonic systems