  Natural and artificial light harvesting processes have recently gained new
interest. Signatures of long lasting coherence in spectroscopic signals of
biological systems have been repeatedly observed, albeit their origin is a
matter of ongoing debate, as it is unclear how the loss of coherence due to
interaction with the noisy environments in such systems is averted. Here we
report experimental and theoretical verification of coherent
exciton-vibrational (vibronic) coupling as the origin of long-lasting coherence
in an artificial light harvester, a molecular J-aggregate. In this
macroscopically aligned tubular system, polarization controlled 2D spectroscopy
delivers an uncongested and specific optical response as an ideal foundation
for an in-depth theoretical description. We derive analytical expressions that
show under which general conditions vibronic coupling leads to prolonged
excited-state coherence.
