Chirality-bolstered quantum Zeno effect enhances radical pair-based magnetoreception

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2505.01519v1
• Date: Fri, 02 May 2025 18:08:04 GMT
• Title: Chirality-bolstered quantum Zeno effect enhances radical pair-based magnetoreception
• Authors: Luke D. Smith, Sukesh Tallapudi, Matt C. J. Denton, Daniel R. Kattnig,
• Abstract summary: We systematically investigate the impact of CISS on the directional magnetic sensitivity of radical pair reactions.<n>We find that CISS-induced spin polarization significantly enhances magnetic sensitivity by introducing triplet character into the initial state.<n>We provide a unified cryptochrome scheme for modeling CISS-influenced initial states and recombination dynamics.
• Score: 0.0
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: Radical pairs in the flavoprotein cryptochrome are central to various magnetically sensitive biological processes, including the proposed mechanism of avian magnetoreception. Cryptochrome's molecular chirality has been hypothesized to enhance magnetic field effects via the chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect, yet the mechanism underlying this enhancement remains unresolved. In this work, we systematically investigate the impact of CISS on the directional magnetic sensitivity of prototypical radical pair reactions, analyzing two distinct models--one generating spin polarization and, for the first time, one generating coherence. We find that CISS-induced spin polarization significantly enhances magnetic sensitivity by introducing triplet character into the initial state and reinforcing the quantum Zeno effect, paralleling enhancements observed in triplet-born radical pairs subject to strongly asymmetric recombination. In contrast, CISS-generated spin coherence does not provide a significant improvement in sensitivity. These findings indicate that CISS is not itself a universal enhancer of sensitivity or coherence in radical-pair reactions, and its influence must be evaluated case by case, particularly in relation to the quantum Zeno effect. Additionally, we provide a unified interpolation scheme for modeling CISS-influenced initial states and recombination dynamics, encompassing the principal models currently discussed in the literature for singlet and triplet precursors.

Related papers

• Mind the Gap: From Resolving Theoretical Foundations of Chiral(ity)-Induced Spin Selectivity to Pioneering Implementations in Quantum Sensing [0.0]
  The chiral(ity)-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect has been widely observed experimentally, yet its theoretical foundations remain actively debated.<n>Recent studies of CISS effects highlight its broad conceptual relevance and potential applications in spintronics, molecular sensors, and quantum information processing.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-08-07T17:52:04Z)
• Interradical motion can push magnetosensing precision towards quantum limits [0.0]
  We show how structured molecular motion modulating interradical interactions can push precision in estimating magnetic field directions closer to the quantum Cram'er-Rao bound.<n>This insight opens the possibility of channeling the underlying physical principles of motion-induced modulation of electron spin-spin interactions towards devising efficient handles.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-06-26T15:38:56Z)
• Radical Pair Mechanism and the Role of Chirality-Induced Spin Selectivity during Planaria Regeneration: Effect of Weak Magnetic Field on ROS levels [0.0]
  Planarian is an intriguing model system wherein the effect of electric and magnetic fields can be studied on various biochemical pathways. Recent experimental observations have demonstrated the non-trivial modulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels by a weak magnetic field during planaria regeneration.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-01-09T12:58:08Z)
• Magnetoreception in cryptochrome enabled by one-dimensional radical motion [0.0]
  A popular hypothesis ascribes magnetoreception to a magnetosensitive recombination reaction of a pair of radicals in protein cryptochrome. Here, we set out to elucidate if a radical pair allowed to undergo internal motion can yield enhanced magneto-sensitivity. Our results highlight the importance of the dynamic environment entwined with the radical pair and ensuing magnetosensitivity under strong EED coupling.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-03-20T13:25:23Z)
• Towards Quantum Sensing of Chiral-Induced Spin Selectivity: Probing Donor-Bridge-Acceptor Molecules with NV Centers in Diamond [0.0]
  Photoexcitable donor-bridge-acceptor molecules that support intramolecular charge transfer are ideal platforms to probe the influence of chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) in electron transfer and resulting radical pairs. We introduce a quantum sensing scheme to measure directly the hypothesized spin polarization in radical pairs using shallow nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond at the single- to few-molecule level. We highlight the perturbative nature of the electron spin-spin dipolar coupling within the radical pair, and demonstrate how Lee-Goldburg decoupling can preserve spin polarization in D-B-A molecules for enantioselective detection by
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-02-03T13:33:30Z)
• Sensing of magnetic field effects in radical-pair reactions using a quantum sensor [50.591267188664666]
  Magnetic field effects (MFE) in certain chemical reactions have been well established in the last five decades. We employ elaborate and realistic models of radical-pairs, considering its coupling to the local spin environment and the sensor. For two model systems, we derive signals of MFE detectable even in the weak coupling regime between radical-pair and NV quantum sensor.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-09-28T12:56:15Z)
• Probing dynamics of a two-dimensional dipolar spin ensemble using single qubit sensor [62.997667081978825]
  We experimentally investigate individual spin dynamics in a two-dimensional ensemble of electron spins on the surface of a diamond crystal. We show that this anomalously slow relaxation rate is due to the presence of strong dynamical disorder. Our work paves the way towards microscopic study and control of quantum thermalization in strongly interacting disordered spin ensembles.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-07-21T18:00:17Z)
• Driven spin dynamics enhances cryptochrome magnetoreception: Towards live quantum sensing [0.0]
  We show that a "live" harmonically driven magnetoreceptor can be more sensitive than its "dead" static counterpart. Findings suggest that a "live" harmonically driven magnetoreceptor can be more sensitive than its "dead" static counterpart.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-06-15T08:06:33Z)
• Anisotropic electron-nuclear interactions in a rotating quantum spin bath [55.41644538483948]
  Spin-bath interactions are strongly anisotropic, and rapid physical rotation has long been used in solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance. We show that the interaction between electron spins of nitrogen-vacancy centers and a bath of $13$C nuclear spins introduces decoherence into the system. Our findings offer new insights into the use of physical rotation for quantum control with implications for quantum systems having motional and rotational degrees of freedom that are not fixed.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-05-16T06:15:00Z)
• Chemical tuning of spin clock transitions in molecular monomers based on nuclear spin-free Ni(II) [52.259804540075514]
  We report the existence of a sizeable quantum tunnelling splitting between the two lowest electronic spin levels of mononuclear Ni complexes. The level anti-crossing, or magnetic clock transition, associated with this gap has been directly monitored by heat capacity experiments. The comparison of these results with those obtained for a Co derivative, for which tunnelling is forbidden by symmetry, shows that the clock transition leads to an effective suppression of intermolecular spin-spin interactions.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-03-04T13:31:40Z)
• Basis-independent system-environment coherence is necessary to detect magnetic field direction in an avian-inspired quantum magnetic sensor [77.34726150561087]
  We consider an avian-inspired quantum magnetic sensor composed of two radicals with a third "scavenger" radical under the influence of a collisional environment. We show that basis-independent coherence, in which the initial system-environment state is non-maximally mixed, is necessary for optimal performance.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2020-11-30T17:19:17Z)
• Optically pumped spin polarization as a probe of many-body thermalization [50.591267188664666]
  We study the spin diffusion dynamics of 13C in diamond, which we dynamically polarize at room temperature via optical spin pumping of engineered color centers. We find good thermal contact throughout the nuclear spin bath, virtually independent of the hyperfine coupling strength. Our results open intriguing opportunities to study the onset of thermalization in a system by controlling the internal interactions within the bath.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2020-05-01T23:16:33Z)

This list is automatically generated from the titles and abstracts of the papers in this site.

This site does not guarantee the quality of this site (including all information) and is not responsible for any consequences.