Bulletin of the American Physical Society

A Biochemical Double Slit

Iannis K. Kominis

Published Sep 14, 2010• 0 citations

Abstract

Radical-ion-pair reactions were recently shown to represent a rich biophysical laboratory for the application of quantum measurement theory methods and concepts. We here show that radical-ion-pair reactions essentially form a non-linear biochemical double slit interferometer. Quantum coherence effects are visible when which-path information is limited, and the incoherent limit is approached when measurement-induced decoherence sets in. Based on this analogy with the optical double slit experiment we derive and elaborate on the fundamental master equation of spin-selective radical-ion-pair reactions that covers the continuous range from complete incoherence to maximum singlet-triplet coherence.

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