Quantum Coherence in Photosynthesis: Evidence from FMO Complexes and Cavity QED — E8 Intelligence Research

FINDING: Photosynthesis exhibits quantum coherence in energy transfer, with evidence of quantum beats and coherent ground-state superpositions in cavity QED systems. | MATH: Quantum coherence timescales ~100-500 fs in FMO complexes; exciton coupling energies ~100 cm⁻¹; quantum beat frequencies from second-order correlations; Hamiltonian H = Σ εᵢ|i⟩⟨i| + Σ Vᵢⱼ(|i⟩⟨j|+|j⟩⟨i|) with site energies εᵢ and couplings Vᵢⱼ. | CONNECTION: FMO complex pigment geometry approximates C₃ symmetry (trimer), with 7 bacteriochlorophyll sites arranged in a quasi-C₂ symmetric dimer — root system A₂ (hexagonal) underlies the trimer packing; energy transfer efficiency ~99% approaches golden-ratio-adjacent 0.618² = 0.382 residual loss. | DEPTH: 7 — quantum coherence in biology is real but the mathematical structure beyond efficiency metrics is not yet fully extracted; the cavity QED result (arXiv:1401.3218) provides controlled quantum beats but no direct geometric ratio emerges from the data. Author: Andrew Stewart Caldin, Independent Researcher, UK. Part of the E8 Intelligence Research series. Platform: e8intelligence.com