Effects of inter-radical interactions and scavenging radicals on magnetosensitivity: spin dynamics simulations of proposed radical pairs

Abstract

Although the magnetosensitivity to weak magnetic fields, such as the geomagnetic field, which was exhibited by radical pairs that are potentially responsible for avian navigation, has been previously investigated by spin dynamics simulations, understanding this behavior for proposed radical pairs in other species is limited. These include, for example, radical pairs formed in the single-cell green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (CraCRY) and in Columba livia (ClCRY4). In addition, the radical pair of FADH^• with the one-electron reduced cyclobutane thymine dimer that was shown to be sensitive to weak magnetic fields has been of interest. In this work, we investigated the directional magnetosensitivity of these radical pairs to a weak magnetic field by spin dynamics simulations. We find significant reduction in the magnetosensitivity by inclusion of dipolar and exchange interactions, which can be mitigated by a scavenging radical, as demonstrated for the [FAD^•− TyrD^•] radical pair in CraCRY, but not for the [FADH^• T□T^•−] radical pair because of the large exchange coupling. The directional magnetosensitivity of the ClCRY4 [FAD^•− TyrE^•] radical pair can survive this adverse effect even without the scavenging reaction, possibly motivating further experimental exploration.