Simulating conical intersection dynamics in the condensed phase with hybrid quantum master equations

Conical Intersections at Interfaces Revealed by Phase-Cycling Interface-Specific Two-Dimensional Electronic Spectroscopy (i2D-ES)

Conical intersections (CIs) hold significant stake in manipulating and controlling photochemical reaction pathways of molecules at interfaces and surfaces by affecting molecular dynamics therein. Currently, there is no tool for characterizing CIs at interfaces and surfaces. To this end, we have developed phase-cycling interface-specific two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (i2D-ES) and combined it with advanced computational modeling to explore nonadiabatic CI dynamics of molecules at the air/water interface. Specifically, we integrated the phase locked pump pulse pair with an interface-specific electronic probe to obtain the two-dimensional interface-specific responses. We demonstrate that the nonadiabatic transitions of an interface-active azo dye molecule that occur through the CIs at the interface have different kinetic pathways from those in the bulk water. Upon photoexcitation, two CIs are present: one from an intersection of an optically active S2 state with a dark S1 state and the other from the intersection of the progressed S1 with the ground state S0. We find that the molecular conformations in the ground state are different for interfacial molecules. The interfacial molecules are intimately correlated with the locally populated excited state S2 being farther away from the CI region. This leads to slower nonadiabatic dynamics at the interface than in bulk water. Moreover, we show that the nonadiabatic transition from the S1 dark state to the ground state is significantly longer at the interface than that in the bulk, which is likely due to the orientationally restricted configuration of the excited state at the interface. Our findings suggest that orientational configurations of molecules manipulate reaction pathways at interfaces and surfaces.

Coherent control from quantum commitment probabilities

We introduce a general definition of a quantum committor in order to clarify reaction mechanisms and facilitate control in processes where coherent effects are important. With a quantum committor, we generalize the notion of a transition state to quantum superpositions and quantify the effect of interference on the progress of the reaction. The formalism is applicable to any linear quantum master equation supporting metastability for which absorbing boundary conditions designating the reactant and product states can be applied. We use this formalism to determine the dependence of the quantum transition state on coherences in a polaritonic system and optimize the initialization state of a conical intersection model to control reactive outcomes, achieving yields of the desired state approaching 100%. In addition to providing a practical tool, the quantum committor provides a conceptual framework for understanding reactions in cases when classical intuitions fail.

On the Mechanism of Polaritonic Rate Suppression from Quantum Transition Paths

Polariton chemistry holds promise for facilitating mode-selective chemical reactions, but the underlying mechanism behind the rate modifications observed under strong vibrational coupling is not well understood. Using the recently developed quantum transition path theory, we have uncovered a mechanism of resonant suppression of a thermal reaction rate in a simple model polaritonic system consisting of a reactive mode in a bath confined to a lossless microcavity with a single photon mode. We observed the formation of a polariton during rate-limiting transitions on reactive pathways and identified the concomitant rate suppression as being due to hybridization between the reactive mode and the cavity mode, which inhibits bath-mediated tunneling. The transition probabilities that define the quantum master equation can be directly translated into a visualization of the corresponding polariton energy landscape. This landscape exhibits a double funnel structure with a large barrier between the initial and final states.

Nonadiabatic transition paths from quantum jump trajectories

We present a means of studying rare reactive pathways in open quantum systems using transition path theory and ensembles of quantum jump trajectories. This approach allows for the elucidation of reactive paths for dissipative, nonadiabatic dynamics when the system is embedded in a Markovian environment. We detail the dominant pathways and rates of thermally activated processes and the relaxation pathways and photoyields following vertical excitation in a minimal model of a conical intersection. We find that the geometry of the conical intersection affects the electronic character of the transition state as defined through a generalization of a committor function for a thermal barrier crossing event. Similarly, the geometry changes the mechanism of relaxation following a vertical excitation. Relaxation in models resulting from small diabatic coupling proceeds through pathways dominated by pure dephasing, while those with large diabatic coupling proceed through pathways limited by dissipation. The perspective introduced here for the nonadiabatic dynamics of open quantum systems generalizes classical notions of reactive paths to fundamentally quantum mechanical processes.

Incorporating Lindblad Decay Dynamics into Mixed Quantum-Classical Simulations

We derive the $\mathcal{L}$-MFE method to incorporate Lindblad jump operator dynamics into the mean-field Ehrenfest (MFE) approach. We map the density matrix evolution of Lindblad dynamics onto pure state coefficients using trajectory averages. We use simple assumptions to construct the $\mathcal{L}$-MFE method that satisfies this exact mapping. This establishes a method that uses independent trajectories which exactly reproduces Lindblad decay dynamics using a wavefunction description, with deterministic changes of the magnitudes of the quantum expansion coefficients, while only adding on a stochastic phase. We further demonstrate that when including nuclei in the Ehrenfest dynamics, the $\mathcal{L}$-MFE method gives semi-quantitatively accurate results, with the accuracy limited by the accuracy of the approximations present in the semiclassical MFE approach. This work provides a general framework to incorporate Lindblad dynamics into semiclassical or mixed quantum-classical simulations.

Molecular Properties and Chemical Transformations Near Interfaces

The properties of bulk water and aqueous solutions are known to change in the vicinity of an interface and/or in a confined environment, including the thermodynamics of ion selectivity at interfaces, transition states and pathways of chemical reactions, and nucleation events and phase growth. Here we describe joint progress in identifying unifying concepts about how air, liquid, and solid interfaces can alter molecular properties and chemical reactivity compared to bulk water and multicomponent solutions. We also discuss progress made in interfacial chemistry through advancements in new theory, molecular simulation, and experiments.

Vibronic coupling in energy transfer dynamics and two-dimensional electronic-vibrational spectra

We introduce a heterodimer model in which multiple mechanisms of vibronic coupling and their impact on energy transfer can be explicitly studied. We consider vibronic coupling that arises through either Franck-Condon activity in which each site in the heterodimer has a local electron-phonon coupling or Herzberg-Teller activity in which the transition dipole moment coupling the sites has an explicit vibrational mode-dependence. We have computed two-dimensional electronic-vibrational (2DEV) spectra for this model while varying the magnitude of these two effects and find that 2DEV spectra contain static and dynamic signatures of both types of vibronic coupling. Franck-Condon activity emerges through a change in the observed excitonic structure, while Herzberg-Teller activity is evident in the appearance of significant side-band transitions that mimic the lower-energy excitonic structure. A comparison of quantum beating patterns obtained from analysis of the simulated 2DEV spectra shows that this technique can report on the mechanism of energy transfer, elucidating a means of experimentally determining the role of specific vibronic coupling mechanisms in such processes.

Quantum Information and Algorithms for Correlated Quantum Matter

Discoveries in quantum materials, which are characterized by the strongly quantum-mechanical nature of electrons and atoms, have revealed exotic properties that arise from correlations. It is the promise of quantum materials for quantum information science superimposed with the potential of new computational quantum algorithms to discover new quantum materials that inspires this Review. We anticipate that quantum materials to be discovered and developed in the next years will transform the areas of quantum information processing including communication, storage, and computing. Simultaneously, efforts toward developing new quantum algorithmic approaches for quantum simulation and advanced calculation methods for many-body quantum systems enable major advances toward functional quantum materials and their deployment. The advent of quantum computing brings new possibilities for eliminating the exponential complexity that has stymied simulation of correlated quantum systems on high-performance classical computers. Here, we review new algorithms and computational approaches to predict and understand the behavior of correlated quantum matter. The strongly interdisciplinary nature of the topics covered necessitates a common language to integrate ideas from these fields. We aim to provide this common language while weaving together fields across electronic structure theory, quantum electrodynamics, algorithm design, and open quantum systems. Our Review is timely in presenting the state-of-the-art in the field toward algorithms with nonexponential complexity for correlated quantum matter with applications in grand-challenge problems. Looking to the future, at the intersection of quantum information science and algorithms for correlated quantum matter, we envision seminal advances in predicting many-body quantum states and describing excitonic quantum matter and large-scale entangled states, a better understanding of high-temperature superconductivity, and quantifying open quantum system dynamics.

Photoisomerization-coupled electron transfer

Photochromic molecular structures constitute a unique platform for constructing molecular switches, sensors, and memory devices. One of their most promising applications is as light-switchable electron acceptor or donor units. Here, we investigate a previously unexplored process that we postulate may occur in such systems: an ultrafast electron transfer triggered by a simultaneous photoisomerization of the donor or the acceptor moiety. We propose a theoretical model for this phenomenon and, with the aid of density functional theory calculations, apply it to the case of a dihydropyrene-type photochromic molecular donor. By considering the wavepacket dynamics and the photoisomerization yield, we show that the two processes involved, electron transfer and photoisomerization, are in general inseparable and need to be treated in a unified manner. We finish by discussing how the efficiency of photoisomerization-coupled electron transfer can be controlled experimentally.

Structure and Efficiency in Bacterial Photosynthetic Light Harvesting

Photosynthetic organisms use networks of chromophores to absorb and deliver solar energy to reaction centers. We present a detailed model of the light-harvesting complexes in purple bacteria, including explicit interaction with sunlight, radiative and nonradiative energy loss, and dephasing and thermalizing effects of coupling to a vibrational bath. We capture the effect of slow vibrations by introducing time-dependent disorder. Our model describes the experimentally observed high efficiency of light harvesting, despite the absence of long-range quantum coherence. The one-exciton part of the quantum state fluctuates continuously but remains highly mixed at all times. These results suggest a relatively minor role for structure in determining efficiency. We build hypothetical models with randomly arranged chromophores but still observe high efficiency when nearest-neighbor distances are comparable to those in nature. This helps explain the high transport efficiency in organisms with widely differing antenna structures and suggests new design criteria for artificial light-harvesting devices.

Quantum dissipative systems beyond the standard harmonic model: Features of linear absorption and dynamics

Current simulations of ultraviolet-visible absorption lineshapes and dynamics of condensed phase systems largely adopt a harmonic description to model vibrations. Often, this involves a model of displaced harmonic oscillators that have the same curvature. Although convenient, for many realistic molecular systems, this approximation no longer suffices. We elucidate nonstandard harmonic and anharmonic effects on linear absorption and dynamics using a stochastic Schrödinger equation approach to account for the environment. First, a harmonic oscillator model with ground and excited potentials that differ in curvature is utilized. Using this model, it is shown that curvature difference gives rise to an additional substructure in the vibronic progression of absorption spectra. This effect is explained and subsequently quantified via a derived expression for the Franck-Condon coefficients. Subsequently, anharmonic features in dissipative systems are studied, using a Morse potential and parameters that correspond to the diatomic molecule H₂ for differing displacements and environment interaction. Finally, using a model potential, the population dynamics and absorption spectra for the stiff-stilbene photoswitch are presented and features are explained by a combination of curvature difference and anharmonicity in the form of potential energy barriers on the excited potential.