Due to photosynthesis's important role in humans and our entire planet, it has been a major focus of scientific research. The process of photosynthesis is also taught in schools at various levels thinking that we had long ago discovered how it works. However, the significant details of the process remain a mystery as they involve quantum mechanical stages.

Researchers at the University of Chicago discovered that plants act like the fifth state of matter, known as Bose-Einstein condensate. Even more surprising is that these condensates are typically observed at near absolute zero temperatures.


Surprising Discovery 

UC Professor David Mazziotti heads a laboratory that uses computer models to understand the interactions between atoms and molecules in crucial chemical processes. Some of these reactions are as important and common as photosynthesis, where plants and algae use the energy from the sunlight to produce sugars and starches.

The discovery began by allowing photons to knock loose electrons in the leaves. This enabled the electron and the hole where the charge used to travel through the chromophore while carrying solar energy. Although the process has been known for a long time, Mazziotti and his colleagues reported that the collection of electrons and holes does not always travel individually.

An electron and its hole are collectively called an exciton, which has different quantum properties. By modeling the behavior of several excitons, the researchers realized that they resembled Bose-Einstein condensate, considered the fifth state of matter.

Scientists make Bose-Einstein condensates by cooling ordered materials to temperatures near absolute zero. Surprisingly, plants produce a similar process even during the daytime. According to first author graduate student Anna Schouten, photosynthetic harvesting of lights happens in a system at room temperature with a disordered structure. This condition is very unlikely with the crystallized materials and cold temperatures required to make excitons condensate.

From this discovery, the experts provided important connections between exciton condensation and exciton transport in light-harvesting complexes. This can have potential applications in harnessing exciton-condensate-like mechanisms to enhance energy transfer in synthetic systems.

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Bose-Einstein Condensate in Quantum Photosynthesis

In particle physics, there are two fundamental classes of particles referred to as fermions and bosons, which are differentiated in terms of spin. A boson is a subatomic particle whose spin quantum number is zero or an integral number. In a Bose-Einstein condensate, the bosons within a material contain low energy, allowing them to occupy the same state as a single particle.

Photosynthesis is usually described as the process by which plants use solar energy, water, and carbon dioxide to produce sugar and oxygen. At a molecular level, it involves the excitation of an electron within the chromophore by the absorbed light. This triggers a series of chain reactions that produce food for the plant.

Chromophores pass energy through excitons toward a reaction center where energy can be utilized. By forming a condensate, the excitons produce a single quantum state, leading to the formation of a superfluid that allows energy to flow freely between chromophores.

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