Optimising light harvesting using quantum transport

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Observations of wavelike energy transport in photosynthetic systems have exposed the role of quantum mechanics in natural light harvesting. This project is a study of how light harvesting functions for an incoherent source like sunlight. In sunlight, energy transport occurs at steady state, a dramatically simpler regime than when a coherent source like lasers are used. This project will exploit this simplification to develop new methods for treating light harvesting in sunlight and apply them to a variety of natural and artificial systems. It will clarify how bacteria and plants harvest sunlight and lead to design principles that will enable artificial light harvesting to take advantage of quantum effects.