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

INSPIRE奖的部分资金来自数学和物理科学局物理部的原子、分子和光学(AMO)物理计划，以及工程局电气、通信和网络系统(ECCS)的能源、电力和自适应系统(EPAS)计划。光电池中的相干性可以由热的太阳辐射诱导吗？遵守量子力学的系统中的噪声能解释光合作用中相干现象的出现吗？对这些问题的肯定回答将导致能源技术的广泛应用。由皮马兰·斯库利组建的多机构团队试图探索使这些问题能够得到答案的潜在物理学。具体地说，这项研究将促进对光伏电池和激光器运行极限的了解，同时说明改善其性能的方法。该项目还将深入了解噪声如何诱导量子相干，以及它在光采集生物系统中的作用。虽然本质上风险很高，但这个项目的回报可能很大；完全改变能源的产生和储存方式是许多可能的长期结果之一。太阳能电池是一种量子热机，是一种前景看好、生态安全的替代能源。它们的运行受热力学定律的支配。在过去的几十年里，人们已经意识到量子相干可以通过打破光子发射和吸收之间的细微平衡来改善光子量子热机的运行，并产生令人着迷的效果，例如没有布居反转的激光。最近，很明显，量子相干可以用来打破光电池中的详细平衡，从而抑制不必要的电子-空穴复合，增加光吸收。原则上，这可以提高光电池的功率。这个问题是皮马兰·斯库利领导的项目的核心。他的主要目标是(1)研究通过注入信号和噪声诱导的相干性来增强激光和光电池功率的可能性，(2)在激光器和光电池中进行证明其性能可以通过辐射诱导相干性来改善的原理实验，(3)研究受激相干拉曼过程使宽太阳光谱变窄的可能性，(4)研究相干性对光收集生物系统中光合作用反应中心的能量传输和电荷分离效率的影响。这项工作是跨学科的，风险很高，但具有潜在的变革性。

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.