QUANTUM CONTROL OF BIOMOLECULAR VIBRATIONS
Abstract
Quantum effects associated with molecular vibrations have been postulated to play an important role in biological processes ranging from olfaction, to photosynthesis, catalysis, neural signalling andeven possibly consciousness. While powerful techniques exist to study the response of molecular vibrations to coherent excitation, it is not yet possible to directly observe biomolecular vibrations at the level of their quantum fluctuations, or to efficiently control their quantum state. This prevents answers to even very basic questions, such as how robust are biomolecular quantum states to the decoherence introduced by a biological environment?, and how does the state of a specific molecular vibration effect broader biological processes such as exciton transport, conformational changes and chemical reactions? This project will develop a new technological platform capable of answering these questions. It will bring together state-of-the-art developments in quantum-limited single molecule biosensing and quantum optomechanics to produce a molecular optomechanical system within which the vibrations of biomolecules are strongly coupled to the optical field of a far sub-diffraction limited dielectric optical nanocavity. This will allow ground state cooling and selective amplification of molecular vibrations, efficient vibrational state transfer from molecules to light, and the preparation of vibrational states of biological systems that are sufficiently quantum to violate the laws of classical physics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 12, 2021
- Source ID
- FA95502010391
Entities
People
- Warwick Bowen
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of Queensland