Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 26, 2025

Excitonic Hamiltonians for Calculating Optical Absorption Spectra and Optoelectronic Properties of Molecular Aggregates and Solids
Published on: May 27, 2020
Theoretical Analysis of Exciton Wave Packet Dynamics in Polaritonic Wires
Gustavo J R Aroeira1, Kyle T Kairys1, Raphael F Ribeiro1
1Department of Chemistry and Cherry Emerson Center for Scientific Computation, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States.
Abstract:
We present a comprehensive study of the exciton wave packet evolution in disordered lossless polaritonic wires. Our simulations reveal signatures of ballistic, diffusive, and subdiffusive exciton dynamics under strong light-matter coupling and identify the typical time scales associated with the transitions between these qualitatively distinct transport phenomena. We determine optimal truncations of the matter and radiation subsystems required for generating reliable time-dependent data from computational simulations at an affordable cost. The time evolution of the photonic part of the wave function reveals that many cavity modes contribute to the dynamics in a nontrivial fashion. Hence, a sizable number of photon modes is needed to describe exciton propagation with a reasonable accuracy. We find and discuss an intriguingly common lack of dominance of the photon mode on resonance with matter in both the presence and absence of disorder. We discuss the implications of our investigations for the development of theoretical models and analysis of experiments where coherent intermolecular energy transport and static disorder play an important role.
Related Concept Videos
Potential Due to a Polarized Object
The de Broglie Wavelength
Molecular Orbital Theory I
MO Theory and Covalent Bonding
Traveling Waves: Lossless Lines
Dielectric Polarization in a Capacitor

