Kaydren Orcutt

1. Introduction Click to copy section linkSection link copied! Solar energy is arguably the most valuable energy source on Earth, yet it is ineffectively exploited by humans. Control and regulation of solar energy conversion processes remain major challenges.

Abstract The water splitting capability of Photosystem II (PSII) of plants and green algae requires the system to balance efficient light harvesting along with effective photoprotection against excitation in excess of photosynthetic capacity, particularly under the naturally fluctuating sunlight intensity.

Abstract Photosynthesis is generally assumed to be initiated by a single photon1,2,3 from the Sun, which, as a weak light source, delivers at most a few tens of photons per nanometre squared per second within a chlorophyll absorption band1. Yet much experimental and theoretical work over the past 40 years has explored the events during photosynthesis subsequent to absorption of light from intense, ultrashort laser pulses2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15.