Dynamic entanglement in oscillating molecules and potential biological implications

TL;DR

This paper shows that entanglement can persist in oscillating molecules within noisy environments, suggesting potential biological relevance and implications for quantum heat exchange, supported by feasible experimental simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a mechanism where oscillatory motion and environmental noise enable persistent entanglement in non-equilibrium molecular systems.

Findings

Entanglement recurs in oscillating molecules despite noise.

Environmental noise can reset and sustain entanglement.

Implications for biological systems and quantum heat exchange.

Abstract

We demonstrate that entanglement can persistently recur in an oscillating two-spin molecule that is coupled to a hot and noisy environment, in which no static entanglement can survive. The system represents a non-equilibrium quantum system which, driven through the oscillatory motion, is prevented from reaching its (separable) thermal equilibrium state. Environmental noise, together with the driven motion, plays a constructive role by periodically resetting the system, even though it will destroy entanglement as usual. As a building block, the present simple mechanism supports the perspective that entanglement can exist also in systems which are exposed to a hot environment and to high levels of de-coherence, which we expect e.g. for biological systems. Our results furthermore suggest that entanglement plays a role in the heat exchange between molecular machines and environment. Experimental simulation of our model with trapped ions is within reach of the current state-of-the-art quantum technologies.