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Hildner, Richard ; Brinks, Daan ; Nieder, Jana B. ; Cogdell, Richard J. ; van Hulst, Niek F.:
Quantum Coherent Energy Transfer over Varying Pathways in Single Light-Harvesting Complexes.
In: Science.
Bd. 340
(2013)
Heft 6139
.
- S. 1448-1451.
ISSN 1095-9203
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1235820
Abstract
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.