Quantum Sensing of a Biological Compass

Magnetoreception, the ability for living organisms to detect magnetic fields, has been widely demonstrated over the last decades. For instance, some migratory birds use the weak geomagnetic field (tens of micro-Tesla) to orient themselves and navigate. The exact mechanism as well as the biological receptor behind magnetoreception remain however unknown. The leading and most intriguing hypothesis attributes this magnetic sense to a quantum mechanical phenomenon: external electromagnetic fields affect the superposition state of the spins of two unpaired electrons, which are created on a protein upon photoexcitation. In this project, a nanoscale quantum sensing technique based on single spins in diamond will be applied to conduct the first investigation of this hypothesis at the molecular level. Evidence of a biochemical process controlled by a quantum mechanical effect, would boost a multidisciplinary research effort on quantum phenomena in the field of biology.