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Published on: February 24, 2013
Sensitivity and entanglement in the avian chemical compass
Yiteng Zhang1, Gennady P Berman2, Sabre Kais3
1Department of Physics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
Abstract:
The radical pair mechanism can help to explain avian orientation and navigation. Some evidence indicates that the intensity of external magnetic fields plays an important role in avian navigation. In this paper, using a two-stage model, we demonstrate that birds could reasonably detect the directions of geomagnetic fields and gradients of these fields using a yield-based chemical compass that is sensitive enough for navigation. Also, we find that the lifetime of entanglement in this proposed compass is angle dependent and long enough to allow adequate electron transfer between molecules.
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