Pulsed generation of electronic-vibrational quantum coherences and non-classicality in biophysical and biochemical systems

We offer an explanation for why robust quantum coherences have been observed in so many driven biophysical and biochemical systems containing large numbers of components (e.g. N≠3 akin to the LHCII aggregates found in green plants). We avoid the typical assumptions inherent in all existing theoretical analyses, by calculating the exact real-time evolution of a driven, generic, N-component system. Our results predict a new form of dynamically-driven vibronic (i.e. electronic-vibrational) quantum entanglement which arises for intermediate pulse durations in a system of general N, and {\em without} having to access the empirically challenging strong-coupling regime. These new findings offer several functional advantages for energy processing in both natural and artificial nanosystems.