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.