MINI REVIEW article
Front. Photonics
Sec. Biophotonics
Introduction to Quantum Mechanics for Applications in Quantum Biology: the case of the avian compass
Fernando Parisio 1
Daniel Felinto 1
Matheus Cândia Araña 2,3
Pedro Henrique Alvarez 4,3
Marcelo Victor Pires de Sousa 5,3
1. Universidade Federal de Pernambuco Departamento de Fisica, Recife, Brazil
2. Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France
3. IDOR Pioneer Science Initiative, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
4. University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
5. Instituto Federal de Sergipe, Estância, Brazil
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Abstract
Quantum biology explores the possibility that fundamental quantum phenomena—such as coherence, tunneling, and entanglement—play functional roles in living systems. While biological environments are warm, wet, and noisy, making them seemingly inhospitable to quantum effects, a growing body of theoretical and experimental work suggests that quantum mechanics may influence processes at the molecular and cellular scale. In this review, we provide a concise introduction to the essential concepts of quantum mechanics most relevant to biology through an exploration of the radical pair mechanism, theorized to play a role in avian navigation during the migratory season. We examine the radical pair mechanism step-by-step from activation to recombination, introducing the concepts from quantum mechanics necessary to start to understand the full workings of the mechanism. By balancing pedagogical clarity with critical evaluation, this review aims to provide both newcomers and specialists with an accessible entry point into quantum biology and to point toward the interdisciplinary challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
Summary
Keywords
Avian navigation, energy quantization, geomagnetic field, Inclination compass, Indistinguishable particles, migratory season, quantum biology, radical pair
Received
26 October 2025
Accepted
18 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Parisio, Felinto, Araña, Alvarez and Pires de Sousa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Pedro Henrique Alvarez
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.