Lighting spectrum to maximize colorfulness

The spectrum of modern illumination can be computationally tailored considering the visual effects of lighting. We investigated the spectral profiles of the white illumination maximizing the theoretical limits of the perceivable object colors. A large number of metamers with various degrees of smoothness were generated on and around the Planckian locus, and the volume in the CIELAB space of the optimal colors for each metamer was calculated. The optimal spectrum was found at the color temperature of around 5.7×10(3) K, had three peaks at both ends of the visible band and at around 510 nm, and was 25% better than daylight and 35% better than Thornton's prime color lamp.