Limits of Memory-Assisted Coherence in Cavity-Embedded Molecules.
- 1School of Chemistry, Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, NorwichNR4 7TJ, United Kingdom.
- 2Department of Physics and Astronomy and Thomas Young Centre, University College London, Gower Street, LondonWC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
- 3School of Engineering, Mathematics and Physics, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, NorwichNR4 7TJ, United Kingdom.
Abstract
Strong light-matter coupling in optical cavities is being widely explored as a strategy for modifying molecular dynamics and enhancing coherence. At the same time, structured vibrational environments can exhibit non-Markovian memory that promotes information backflow and coherence revival. We investigate the competition between these effects in a vibronic molecular system strongly coupled to a lossy optical cavity. Using hierarchical equations of motion to treat structured vibrational baths, we quantify both system coherence and non-Markovianity via the l1 norm of coherence and the Breuer-Laine-Piilo measure, respectively. We find that cavity coupling enhances coherence in overdamped environments but can suppress memory-assisted coherence in resonant underdamped regimes, even in the absence of significant photon loss. This suppression arises from hybridization-induced modification of system-bath information flow. We demonstrate that cavity coupling does not universally protect coherence but establishes limits governed by the competition between vibrational recurrence time scales and polaritonic hybridization.
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BibTeX
@article{kinslow2026limits,
title = {{Limits of Memory-Assisted Coherence in Cavity-Embedded Molecules.}},
author = {Joshua C Kinslow and Ben S Humphries and Dale Green and Magnus O Borgh and Garth A Jones},
journal = {The journal of physical chemistry letters},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1021/acs.jpclett.6c02396},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42918228},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Limits of Memory-Assisted Coherence in Cavity-Embedded Molecules.
AU - Joshua C Kinslow
AU - Ben S Humphries
AU - Dale Green
AU - Magnus O Borgh
AU - Garth A Jones
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - The journal of physical chemistry letters
DO - 10.1021/acs.jpclett.6c02396
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42918228
AB - Strong light-matter coupling in optical cavities is being widely explored as a strategy for modifying molecular dynamics and enhancing coherence. At the same time, structured vibrational environments can exhibit non-Markovian memory that promotes information backflow and coherence revival. We investigate the competition between these effects in a vibronic molecular system strongly coupled to a lossy optical cavity. Using hierarchical equations of motion to treat structured vibrational baths, we quantify both system coherence and non-Markovianity via the l1 norm of coherence and the Breuer-Laine-Piilo measure, respectively. We find that cavity coupling enhances coherence in overdamped environments but can suppress memory-assisted coherence in resonant underdamped regimes, even in the absence of significant photon loss. This suppression arises from hybridization-induced modification of system-bath information flow. We demonstrate that cavity coupling does not universally protect coherence but establishes limits governed by the competition between vibrational recurrence time scales and polaritonic hybridization.
SN - 1948-7185
ER -