  Energy transfer plays a vital role in many natural and technological
processes. In this work, we study the effects of mechanical motion on the
excitation transfer through a chain of interacting molecules with application
to biological scenarios of transfer processes. Our investigation demonstrates
that, for various types of mechanical oscillations, the transfer efficiency is
significantly enhanced over that of comparable static configurations. This
enhancement is a genuine quantum signature, and requires the collaborative
interplay between the quantum-coherent evolution of the excitation and the
mechanical motion of the molecules; it has no analogue in the classical
incoherent energy transfer. This effect may not only occur naturally, but it
could be exploited in artificially designed systems to optimize transport
processes. As an application, we discuss a simple and hence robust control
technique.

Quantum Physics;Biological Physics