INSPIRE: Photonic Quantum Heat Engines Including: Lasers without Inversion, Photo-Carnot Engines, Quantum PV Cells and Quantum Coherence Effects in Photosynthesis

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This INSPIRE award is partially funded by the Atomic, Molecular and Optical (AMO) Physics Program in the Physics Division of the Mathematical and Physical Science Directorate and the Energy, Power, and Adaptive Systems (EPAS) Program of the Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS) in the Directorate for Engineering.Can coherence in a photocell be induced by "hot" solar radiation? Can noise in a system obeying quantum mechanics explain appearance of coherence in photosynthesis? Affirmative answers to these questions would lead to wide ranging applications in energy technology. The multi-institutional team assembled by PI Marlan Scully seeks to probe the underlying physics that will enable these questions to be answered. Specifically, this investigation will advance understanding of operation limits of photovoltaic cells and lasers while illustrating the ways to improve their performance. This project will also yield insights into how quantum coherence can be induced by noise and its role in light harvesting biological systems. While by nature high risk, the payoffs of this project could be large; a total transformation of the way energy is generated and stored is one of the many possible long-term outcomes. Solar cells are quantum heat engines that are promising and ecologically safe candidates for alternative energy sources. Their operation is governed by the laws of thermodynamics. It has been realized in the past decades that quantum coherence can improve operation of photonic quantum heat engines and yield fascinating effects, e.g., lasing without population inversion, by breaking the detailed balance between photon emission and absorption. More recently, it has become apparent that quantum coherence can be used to break detailed balance in a photocell, thus suppressing unwanted electron-hole recombination and increasing light absorption. In principle, this can enhance photocell power. This issue is at the core of the project lead by PI Marlan Scully. His main objectives are (1) to investigate possibility of laser and photocell power enhancement by injected signal and by noise induced coherence, (2) to carry out a proof of principle experiment in lasers and photocells showing that their performance can be improved by radiatively induced coherence, (3) to investigate possibility of narrowing of broad solar spectrum by stimulated coherent Raman processes, (4) to study effects of coherence on energy transport to the photosynthetic reaction centers and charge separation efficiency in light harvesting biological systems. This work is interdisciplinary and high risk but potentially transformative.