Optical switching of radical pair conformation enhances magnetic sensitivity

Abstract

The yield of chemical reactions involving intermediate radical pairs is influenced by magnetic fields well beyond the levels expected from energy considerations. This dependence can be traced back to the microscopic dynamics of electron spins and constitutes the basis of the chemical compass. Here we propose a new experimental approach based on molecular photoswitches to achieve additional control on the chemical reaction and to allow short-time resolution of the spin dynamics. Our proposal enables experiments to test some of the standard assumptions of the radical pair model and improves the sensitivity of chemical magnetometers by two orders of magnitude.

References in corpus (3)

• Tuning the conductance of a molecular switch
• Quantum limit for avian magnetoreception: How sensitive can a chemical compass be?
• Quantum probe and design for a chemical compass with magnetic nanostructures

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Chemical compass model for avian magnetoreception as a quantum coherent device
• Approaches to Measuring Entanglement in Chemical Magnetometers
• Quantum Control of Radical Pair Dynamics beyond Time-Local Optimization
• Quantum-limited biochemical magnetometers designed using the Fisher information and quantum reaction control
• Multiple re-encounter approach to radical pair reactions and the role of nonlinear master equations