Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Bulletin of the American Physical Society

Fully quantum analysis of photosynthetic coherent energy absorption and transfer

Omar Gamel, C. H. Herman Chan, Graham R. Fleming, K. Birgitta Whaley

Published Mar 13, 2017• 1 citation
OpenAlex

Related papers

An investigation into the energy transfer efficiency of a two-pigment photosynthetic system using a macroscopic quantum model

Fatemeh Ghasemi, Afshin Shafiee

arXiv:2006.12493•Biosystems•Jul 27, 2020•6 citations

Fast energy transfer in green photosynthetic bacteria studied by spectral hole burning

MARTIN VACHA

•Jan 1, 1993•0 citations

Excitation transfer through open quantum networks: Three basic mechanisms

Lorenzo Campos Venuti, Paolo Zanardi A

A variety of open quantum networks are currently under intense examination to model energy transport in photosynthetic systems. Here, we study the coherent transfer of a quantum excitation over a network incoherently coupled with a structured and small environment that effectively models the photosynthetic reaction center. Our goal is to distill a few basic, possibly universal, mechanisms or effects that are featured in simple energy-transfer models. In particular, we identify three different phenomena: the congestion effect, the asymptotic unitarity, and the staircase effects. We begin with few-site models, in which these effects can be fully understood, and then proceed to study more complex networks similar to those employed to model energy transfer in light-harvesting complexes.

arXiv:1101.4808•Physical Review B•Oct 19, 2011•10 citations

Regenerative quantum coherence in photosynthesis under natural conditions

Stephan Hoyer, K. Birgitta Whaley

Bulletin of the American Physical Society•Mar 22, 2011•0 citations

Quantum Jump Approach for Photosynthetic Energy Transfer with Chemical Reaction and Fluorescence Loss

Rui Li, Yi Li, Kai-Ya Zhang +1 more

Recently, the coherent modified Redfield theory (CMRT) has been widely used to simulate the excitation-energy-transfer (EET) processes in photosynthetic systems. However, the numerical simulation of the CMRT is computationally expensive when dealing with large-scale systems, e.g. photosystem I (PSI) and II (PSII). On the other hand, the chemical reaction and fluorescence loss traditionally treated by the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian approach may result in significantly error in a wide range of parameters. To address these issues, we introduce a quantum jump approach (QJA) based on the CMRT to simulate the evolution of photosynthetic complexes including both the chemical reaction and fluorescence loss. The QJA shows higher accuracy and efficiency in simulating the EET processes. The QJA-CMRT approach may provide a powerful tool to design and optimize artificial photosynthetic systems, which benefits future innovation in the field of energy.

physics.chem-phCross-listedarXiv:2511.16984•Nov 24, 2025

Efficient quantum simulation of photosynthetic light harvesting

Bi-Xue Wang, Ming-Jie Tao, Qing Ai +7 more

Abstract Near-unity energy transfer efficiency has been widely observed in natural photosynthetic complexes. This phenomenon has attracted broad interest from different fields, such as physics, biology, chemistry, and material science, as it may offer valuable insights into efficient solar-energy harvesting. Recently, quantum coherent effects have been discovered in photosynthetic light harvesting, and their potential role on energy transfer has seen the heated debate. Here, we perform an experimental quantum simulation of photosynthetic energy transfer using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). We show that an N-chromophore photosynthetic complex, with arbitrary structure and bath spectral density, can be effectively simulated by a system with log2N qubits. The computational cost of simulating such a system with a theoretical tool, like the hierarchical equation of motion, which is exponential in N, can be potentially reduced to requiring a just polynomial number of qubits N using NMR quantum simulation. The benefits of performing such quantum simulation in NMR are even greater when the spectral density is complex, as in natural photosynthetic complexes. These findings may shed light on quantum coherence in energy transfer and help to provide design principles for efficient artificial light harvesting.

arXiv:1801.09475•npj Quantum Information•Oct 12, 2018•124 citations
A variety of open quantum networks are currently under intense examination to model energy transport in photosynthetic systems. Here, we study the coherent transfer of a quantum excitation over a network incoherently coupled with a structured and small environment that effectively models the photosynthetic reaction center. Our goal is to distill a few basic, possibly universal, mechanisms or effects that are featured in simple energy-transfer models. In particular, we identify three different phenomena: the congestion effect, the asymptotic unitarity, and the staircase effects. We begin with few-site models, in which these effects can be fully understood, and then proceed to study more complex networks similar to those employed to model energy transfer in light-harvesting complexes.
Recently, the coherent modified Redfield theory (CMRT) has been widely used to simulate the excitation-energy-transfer (EET) processes in photosynthetic systems. However, the numerical simulation of the CMRT is computationally expensive when dealing with large-scale systems, e.g. photosystem I (PSI) and II (PSII). On the other hand, the chemical reaction and fluorescence loss traditionally treated by the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian approach may result in significantly error in a wide range of parameters. To address these issues, we introduce a quantum jump approach (QJA) based on the CMRT to simulate the evolution of photosynthetic complexes including both the chemical reaction and fluorescence loss. The QJA shows higher accuracy and efficiency in simulating the EET processes. The QJA-CMRT approach may provide a powerful tool to design and optimize artificial photosynthetic systems, which benefits future innovation in the field of energy.
Abstract Near-unity energy transfer efficiency has been widely observed in natural photosynthetic complexes. This phenomenon has attracted broad interest from different fields, such as physics, biology, chemistry, and material science, as it may offer valuable insights into efficient solar-energy harvesting. Recently, quantum coherent effects have been discovered in photosynthetic light harvesting, and their potential role on energy transfer has seen the heated debate. Here, we perform an experimental quantum simulation of photosynthetic energy transfer using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). We show that an N-chromophore photosynthetic complex, with arbitrary structure and bath spectral density, can be effectively simulated by a system with log2N qubits. The computational cost of simulating such a system with a theoretical tool, like the hierarchical equation of motion, which is exponential in N, can be potentially reduced to requiring a just polynomial number of qubits N using NMR quantum simulation. The benefits of performing such quantum simulation in NMR are even greater when the spectral density is complex, as in natural photosynthetic complexes. These findings may shed light on quantum coherence in energy transfer and help to provide design principles for efficient artificial light harvesting.