Electron spin relaxation in radical-pair magnetoreceptors

Work from Oxford Chemistry’s Dr Jiate Luo, a postdoc in the group of Prof Peter Hore, has been featured on the cover of this week’s issue of The Journal of Chemical Physics.

Dr Luo’s study considers electron spin relaxation, often “considered an elephant in the room that challenges the idea of a radical-pair compass”. The radical-pair mechanism mechanism is a leading hypothesis for the chemistry behind the compass sense that birds use to navigate when they migrate. Dr Luo’s work considers the ways in which electron spin relaxation may enhance the sensitivity of just such a chemical compass mechanism.

You can read the full paper here.