A New Window on Photosynthesis: Ultrafast Coherence Dynamics in Biomolecules and Semiconductor Nanostructures

最近的研究表明，光合作用中能量捕获和转移的显着效率可能是由于量子相干性的影响，这是一个本质上的非经典现象。 我们将使用超快激光光谱学研究生物和纳米制造系统中的这些效应。对这些能量转移过程的理解可能会为开发一系列新技术打开大门，包括将太阳能直接转换为有用能量的清洁和几乎无限的能源，以及将彻底改变我们处理信息能力的量子计算机。

Recent research has indicated that the remarkable efficiency of energy capture and transfer in photosynthesis may be due to the effects of quantum coherence, which is an intrinsically non-classical phenomenon. We will investigate these effects in biological and nanofabricated systems using ultrafast laser spectroscopy . An understanding of these energy transfer processes may open the door to the development to a range of new technologies, including clean and virtually limitless energy sources that convert solar energy directly into useful power and quantum computers that will revolutionize our ability to process information.