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Sustained Quantum Coherence and Entanglement in the Avian Compass

Erik M. Gauger, Elisabeth Rieper, John J. L. Morton, Simon C. Benjamin, and Vlatko Vedral
Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 040503 – Published 25 January 2011
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Abstract

In artificial systems, quantum superposition and entanglement typically decay rapidly unless cryogenic temperatures are used. Could life have evolved to exploit such delicate phenomena? Certain migratory birds have the ability to sense very subtle variations in Earth’s magnetic field. Here we apply quantum information theory and the widely accepted “radical pair” model to analyze recent experimental observations of the avian compass. We find that superposition and entanglement are sustained in this living system for at least tens of microseconds, exceeding the durations achieved in the best comparable man-made molecular systems. This conclusion is starkly at variance with the view that life is too “warm and wet” for such quantum phenomena to endure.

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  • Received 24 May 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.040503

© 2011 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Erik M. Gauger1, Elisabeth Rieper2, John J. L. Morton1,3, Simon C. Benjamin2,1,*, and Vlatko Vedral2,3,4

  • 1Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PH, United Kingdom
  • 2Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore, Singapore
  • 3Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Parks Road, OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
  • 4Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, Singapore

  • *s.benjamin@qubit.org

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Issue

Vol. 106, Iss. 4 — 28 January 2011

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