Disorder-induced non-Gaussian states in large ensembles of cavity-coupled molecules

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Schwengelbeck, R., Pandini, M., Daraban, R., Schachenmayer, J.
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Schwengelbeck, R.
Pandini, M.
Daraban, R.
Schachenmayer, J.
author_facet Schwengelbeck, R.
Pandini, M.
Daraban, R.
Schachenmayer, J.
contents We analyze vibrational dynamics in a toy model for polaritonic chemistry under collective electronic strong coupling. In a Holstein-Tavis-Cummings model, incoherently excited by a photon, we show that disorder leads to non-Gaussian states of vibrational modes on short time scales at the single-molecule level. Using exact matrix product state simulations, we demonstrate that this effect can remain robust for larger molecule numbers, implying that nuclear wave packets cannot be effectively described by thermal states. Furthermore, we compare simulations of the exact quantum dynamics with semiclassical approximations. We find that the Ehrenfest approximation can only well reproduce ensemble-averaged observables for very large system sizes. Also simulations in the truncated Wigner approximation fail to capture the non-Gaussian effects. Our work highlights the importance of disorder and genuine quantum effects in cavity-modified nuclear dynamics in polaritonic chemistry.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_18456
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Disorder-induced non-Gaussian states in large ensembles of cavity-coupled molecules
Schwengelbeck, R.
Pandini, M.
Daraban, R.
Schachenmayer, J.
Quantum Physics
Chemical Physics
We analyze vibrational dynamics in a toy model for polaritonic chemistry under collective electronic strong coupling. In a Holstein-Tavis-Cummings model, incoherently excited by a photon, we show that disorder leads to non-Gaussian states of vibrational modes on short time scales at the single-molecule level. Using exact matrix product state simulations, we demonstrate that this effect can remain robust for larger molecule numbers, implying that nuclear wave packets cannot be effectively described by thermal states. Furthermore, we compare simulations of the exact quantum dynamics with semiclassical approximations. We find that the Ehrenfest approximation can only well reproduce ensemble-averaged observables for very large system sizes. Also simulations in the truncated Wigner approximation fail to capture the non-Gaussian effects. Our work highlights the importance of disorder and genuine quantum effects in cavity-modified nuclear dynamics in polaritonic chemistry.
title Disorder-induced non-Gaussian states in large ensembles of cavity-coupled molecules
topic Quantum Physics
Chemical Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.18456