Long-range interactions between electronically excited molecules and molecules at the ground state were found for distances of much more than 100 nm, as indicated by the dependence of the fluorescence lifetime on the concentration of dyes in diluted solutions. In contrast to this experimental result, the fluorescence lifetimes of distant isolated molecules should be independent from the concentration according to basic theory for light emission, such as that reported by Förster and Strickler–Berg. As a consequence, the theory of such emission should be modified for real systems to include electromagnetic interactions with distant resonating structures. Consequences of these findings concern many subjects, such as imaging methods (FLIM) in biochemistry.
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