2013/06/20 by Richard Hildner, Daan Brinks, Jana B. Nieder +2 · 364 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Chemistry · Neuroscience · Physics and Astronomy · #Chemical physics #Chemistry #Coherence (philosophical gambling strategy) #Electron transfer #Energy transfer #Excitation #Femtosecond #Laser #Light-harvesting complex #Photochemistry #Photoreceptor and optogenetics research #Photosynthesis #Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms #Photosynthetic reaction centre #Photosystem II #Physics #Quantum #Quantum mechanics #Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical Studies #Ultrashort pulse
paper · doi:10.1126/science.1235820
published in Science 340(6139), 1448-1451 (American Association for the Advancement of Science)
openalex publication_date 2013/06/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
The initial steps of photosynthesis comprise the absorption of sunlight by pigment-protein antenna complexes followed by rapid and highly efficient funneling of excitation energy to a reaction center. In these transport processes, signatures of unexpectedly long-lived coherences have emerged in two-dimensional ensemble spectra of various light-harvesting complexes. Here, we demonstrate ultrafast quantum coherent energy transfer within individual antenna complexes of a purple bacterium under physiological conditions. We find that quantum coherences between electronically coupled energy eigenstates persist at least 400 femtoseconds and that distinct energy-transfer pathways that change with time can be identified in each complex. Our data suggest that long-lived quantum coherence renders energy transfer in photosynthetic systems robust in the presence of disorder, which is a prerequisite for efficient light harvesting.