Steering Non-Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics in Optical Cavities

Abstract: Optical resonators have shown outstanding abilities to tailor chemical landscapes through enhanced light-matter interaction between confined optical modes and molecule vibrations. We propose a theoretical model to study cooperative vibrational strong coupling in an open quantum system. The non-equilibrium stochastic molecular dynamics in an optical cavity with an auxiliary ensemble is investigated. It shows that coupling with a cavity mode introduces an additional colored noise and a negative feedback, both of which enable control over thermalization rates (i.e. the lifetime of excitation) of reactive molecules. Our work offers a pathway to steer stability of chemical bonds for chemical reactivity under cooperative vibrational strong coupling.