THE DIRECT OBSERVATION OF ELECTRONIC COHERENCE IN ELECTRON-TRANSFER REACTIONS POSSIBLE

The observability of electronic coherence in electron transfer reactio ns is discussed. We show that under appropriate circumstances large-am plitude oscillations can be found in the electronic occupation probabi lities. The initial preparation of the system is of crucial importance for this effect, and we discuss conditions under which experiments de tecting electronic coherence should be feasible. The Feynman-Vernon in fluence functional formalism is extended to examine more general and e xperimentally relevant initial preparations. Analytical expressions an d path integral quantum dynamics simulations were developed to study t he effects of various initial preparations on the observability of ele ctronic coherence. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606 (97)02844-4].