A spectroscopic study has directly monitored the quantum beating arising from remarkably long-lived electronic quantum coherence in a bacteriochlorophyll complex. 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.
- Gregory S. Engel
- Tessa R. Calhoun
- Graham R. Fleming
