Coherence phenomena arise from interference, or the addition, of wave-like amplitudes in phase. While coherence has been shown to yield transformative new ways for improving function, advances have been limited to pristine matter, as quantum coherence is considered fragile. Recent evidence of coherence in chemical and biological systems, however, concludes that the phenomena is robust and can survive in the face of disorder and noise. I will present the state of recent discoveries. For example, two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy data allow quantitative analysis of vibronic coherence in the photosynthetic light harvesting complexes [1]. I will show how vibronic coherence plays a special role in downhill energy transfer, increasing energy transfer rates remarkably—even when electronic coupling is weak [2]. I will discuss how coherence cat used to study function-relevant energy flow in organometallic molecules and conclude with a forecast for the role of function as a design element in realizing coherence [3].

Can coherence enhance function in chemical and biophysical systems?

256th National Meeting (2018)

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