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arXiv:2603.23427

Elucidating the Synergetic Interplay between Average Intermolecular Coupling and Coupling Disorder in Short-Time Exciton Transfer

Siwei Wang, Guangming Liu, Hsing-Ta Chen

physics.chem-phquant-phSubmitted Mar 24, 2026• Announced Mar 25, 2026
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Exciton transport in molecular aggregates is a fundamental process governing the performance of organic optoelectronics and light-harvesting systems. While most theoretical studies have emphasized long-time transport behavior, recent advances in ultrafast spectroscopy have brought into focus the short-time regime, in which exciton motion remains ballistic on femtosecond-to-picosecond timescales. In this work, we develop an analytical framework for short-time exciton dynamics in a one-dimensional lattice subject to both on-site energetic (diagonal) disorder and intermolecular coupling (off-diagonal) fluctuations. Utilizing the reciprocal-space analysis, we derive closed-form expressions for the first and second spatial moments considering both localized excitation and moving Gaussian initial conditions. Our analytical and numerical results show that, while the long-time dynamics are influenced by diagonal disorder, the short-time ballistic expansion is governed primarily by off-diagonal disorder. Crucially, we reveal a synergistic interplay between the average intermolecular coupling and the off-diagonal coupling disorder strength, demonstrating that they contribute equivalently to short-time exciton transport. Moreover, we integrate this generic disorder model with a realistic molecular system within the framework of macroscopic quantum electrodynamics, thereby providing a theoretical foundation for characterizing and optimizing ultrafast energy flow of disordered molecular aggregates in complex dielectric media.

Journal reference
J. Chem. Phys. 164, 244101 (2026)
DOI
10.1063/5.0335461
Comments
16 pages, 9 figures

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We investigate the quantum dynamics in a disordered electronic lattice by the time-dependent density matrix renormalization group algorithm. The on-site energy in the lattice follows the Fibonacci sequence and the electron off-diagonally couples to a sub-Ohmic phonon bath. It is found that the slope of the inverse participation ratio versus the coupling strength undergoes a sudden change that indicates a transition from static to dynamic localization, and that the generated polarons coherently diffuse via hopping-like processes, evidenced by the saturated entanglement entropy, providing a novel scenario for a transportation mechanism in strongly disordered systems. Moreover, the mean-square displacement is revealed to be insensitive to the coupling strength, implying the quantum diffusion behavior survives the energy disorder that prevails in real organic materials.
Photosynthetic antenna complexes achieve high quantum efficiency through exciton transport in coupled pigment networks. Conventional Frenkel-exciton models treat each chromophore as a structureless site and neglect internal electronic degrees of freedom that can influence coherence and delocalization. Here we develop an extended excitonic network model that preserves the pigment-pigment coupling topology while introducing tunable intrachromophoric electronic mixing within the single-excitation manifold. Using a Lindblad open-quantum-system framework, we quantify coherence, delocalization, and trapping efficiency across parameter space. We show that intrachromophoric mixing plays a time-dependent role: enhanced mixing on the antenna side promotes short-time coherent delocalization and improves excitation injection, whereas excessive mixing near the trapping site induces persistent delocalization and suppresses transfer efficiency. Simulated two-dimensional electronic spectra reveal enhanced cross peaks and systematic blue shifts, providing spectroscopic signatures of coherence-modulated transport. These results establish a microscopic connection between internal electronic structure and quantum transport performance in excitonic networks.