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SUMMARY:Super-Radiant Virus-Derived Nanoparticles
LOCATION:Chemistry A101
TZID:America/Denver
DTSTART:20240425T160000
UID:2026-04-26-02-09-35@natsci.colostate.edu
DTSTAMP:20260426T020935
Description:About the Seminar:\n\nWork at the intersection between Physical
  Chemistry and Virology in our laboratory has recently brought to light a 
 new aspect of the hotly--debated relationship between quantum mechanics an
 d biology\, and of the boundary between quantum and classical behavior.  
 Specifically\, we have found that some small\, icosahedral plant viruses a
 re capable of fostering quantum coherence among virus-bound light emitting
  chromophores at room temperature\, and in physiological conditions. By ex
 citing many chromophores covalently-bound to a virus capsid with a short l
 aser pulse\, we discovered that the dynamics of light emission has all the
  hallmarks of optical super-radiance (SR) -- a phenomenon requiring sponta
 neous emitters synchronization and limited preservation of a collective\, 
 quantum coherent state. Up to now\, this phenomenon has been observed and 
 studied at cryogenic temperatures or high fields\, but very recent investi
 gations have also found SR at room temperature in N-vacancy diamond partic
 les\, and in hybrid organic-perovskite thin films. What do N-vacancies in 
 diamond\, perovskites\, and viruses have in common? We formulate a hypothe
 sis which is based on some unique physical characteristics of engineered\,
  multi-chromophore virus-like particles (VLPs). These properties may lend 
 such small icosahedral viruses into scaffolds suitability to sustain (for 
 a limited time) quantum coherence at room temperature\, where collisional 
 dephasing is generally expected to suppress quantum coherence. We propose 
 that virus shell symmetry and genome elastic stresses influence virus-shel
 l vibrations (phonons)\, which in turn leads to the unusual collective pho
 tonic properties. 4:00 pm
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