Our research involves theoretical studies of single molecule spectroscopy at low temperatures, energy and electron transfer and relaxation in molecular aggregates, and the optical and electronic properties of conjugated oligomers and polymers and the transport of charge in organic systems.

In the first area, work is ongoing on how to interpret the spectroscopy of a single molecule or aggregate of molecules in a low temperature condensed phase. We make predictions about the time dependence of the spectrum due to fluctuations in the surrounding environment. In the area of energy and electron transfer and relaxation in molecular aggregates, our work is concerned with the dynamics of excitations in aggregates and the associated optical properties. The effects of disorder, impurities and temperature are considered. We work closely with experimenters in these areas to interpret their results.

The electronic structure and optical properties of conjugated polymers in condensed phases are strongly dependent on the geometry of the polymer and on the environment of the polymer. We are currently interested in the effects of interchain interactions on the optical spectrum, charge transport and the nonlinear optical susceptibilities of these polymers.

Beyond Förster Transfer, D. Beljonne, Carlos Curutchet, G. Scholes, R. J. Silbey, J. Phys. Chem B 113, 6583-6599 (2009): feature article

Theory of single file diffusion in a force field, E. Barkai and R. Silbey, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, art. 050602 (2009)

Optimization of exciton trapping in energy transfer processes, Jianshu Cao and R. J. Silbey, J. Phys Chem. A. 113, 13825-13838 (2009) feature article

Diffusion of a Tagged Particle in an Exclusion Process, E. Barkai and R.J. Silbey Phys. Rev. E 81, 041129 (2010)

Two dimensional excitons as primary energy carriers in organic crystals: the case of oligoacenes, E. V. Emelianova, S. Athanasopoulos, R. J. Silbey, and David Beljonne, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 206405 (2010)

Efficient energy transfer in light harvesting systems: optimal temperature, reorganization energy, and spatial temporal correlations, J. Wu, F. Liu, Y. Shen, J. Cao, and R. Silbey, New J. Phys. 12 105012 (2010)

Effect of Correlation of Local Fluctuations on Exciton Coherence, Xin Chen and R. J. Silbey, J. Chem. Phys.132, 205101 (2010).

Unified treatment of incoherent and coherent energy transfer dynamics using classical electrodynamics, E. Zimanyi and R. Silbey, J. Chem. Phys. 133, 144107 (2010)

Excitation Transfer in a Non-Markovian Dynamically Cisordered Environment: Localization, Narrowing and Transfer Efficiency, Xin Chen and R. J. Silbey, J. Phys. Chem. B (asap 2011)