Experimental and theoretical studies have shown that excitonic effects play an important role in the optical properties of conjugated polymers. The optical absorption spectrum of trans-polyacetylene, for example, can be understood as completely dominated by the formation of exciton bound states. We review a recently developed first-principles method for computing the excitonic effects and optical spectrum, with no adjustable parameters. This theory is used to study the absorption spectrum of two conjugated polymers: trans-polyacetylene and poly-phenylene-vinylene(PPV).

The effects of electron-hole interaction on the optical properties of a variety of materials have been calculated using an ab initio method based on solving the Bethe-Salpeter equation. Results on selected semiconductors, insulators, and semiconducting polymers are presented. In the cases of alpha-quartz (SiO2) and poly-phenylene-vinylene, resonant excitonic states qualitatively alter the absorption spectra.