Models and Methods for Quantum Biology Problems

The aim of this PhD project is to study methodological ways and general models for describing a biological system by quantum means. The first part of the thesis is devoted to review useful background discussing the historical and experimental foundations of quantum biology. Two major modeling paradigms are introduced: the quantum-like approach and the multiscale approach. Original contributions are then presented. The first one is about a set of methods useful to investigate biological phenomena: the search of a more efficient algorithm and an analytical model coming from thermodynamics. The second contribution discusses the development and analysis of a general spin-chain model for excitation transport under noise and disorder, seeking for universal behaviors relevant to biological energy transfer. The third contribution constructs a physics-based microscopic model for PhotoSystem I, to realistically simulate a light-harvesting complex behavior. The fourth contribution elaborates on implications of my research along selected dimensions of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in the NATO Women and Girls in Science Challenge. Finally, I present four appendices. The first two are about the exact diagonalization method and entanglement. The last ones present the literary counterpart of this scientific thesis: a study of a novella through the lens of quantum physics and a short book including an award-winning novella I wrote during my last PhD year.