Do photosynthetic complexes use quantum coherence to increase their efficiency?

In a new report now published on Science Advances, Elinor Zerah Harush and Yonatan Dubi in the departments of chemistry and nanoscale science and technology, at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, discussed a direct evaluation of the effects of quantum coherence on the efficiency of three natural photosynthetic complexes. The open quantum systems approach allowed the researchers to simultaneously identify the quantum-nature and efficiency under natural physiological conditions. These systems resided in a mixed quantum-classical regime, which they characterized using dephasing-assisted transport. The efficiency was minimal at best therefore the presence of quantum coherence did not play a substantial role in the process. The efficiency was also independent of any structural parameters, suggesting the role of evolution during structural design for other uses.