Evidence for wavelike energy transfer through quantum coherence in photosynthetic systems

Gregory S. Engel, Tessa R. Calhoun, Elizabeth L. Read, Tae-Kyu Ahn, Tomáš Mančal, Yuan-Chung Cheng, Robert E. Blankenship and Graham R. Fleming ()
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Gregory S. Engel: University of California, Berkeley
Tessa R. Calhoun: University of California, Berkeley
Elizabeth L. Read: University of California, Berkeley
Tae-Kyu Ahn: University of California, Berkeley
Tomáš Mančal: University of California, Berkeley
Yuan-Chung Cheng: University of California, Berkeley
Robert E. Blankenship: Department of Biology,
Graham R. Fleming: University of California, Berkeley

Nature, 2007, vol. 446, issue 7137, 782-786

Abstract: Making photosynthesis tick Photosynthesis provides the primary energy source for almost all life on Earth. One of its remarkable features is the efficiency with which energy is transferred within the light harvesting complexes comprising the photosynthetic apparatus. Suspicions that quantum trickery might be involved in the energy transfer processes at the core of photosynthesis are now confirmed by a new spectroscopic study. The study reveals electronic quantum beats characteristic of wavelike energy motion within the bacteriochlorophyll complex from the green sulphur bacterium Chlorobium tepidum. This wavelike characteristic of the energy transfer process can explain the extreme efficiency of photosynthesis, in that vast areas of phase space can be sampled effectively to find the most efficient path for energy transfer.

Date: 2007
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DOI: 10.1038/nature05678

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