Quantum-Electrodynamical Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory Description of Molecules in Optical Cavities

We introduce a quantum-electrodynamical time-dependent density functional theory with a tensor-product representation (QED-TDDFT-TP) to model molecules strongly coupled to quantized cavity fields. By combining real-space electronic wave functions with truncated Fock-space photon states, the method captures light-matter correlations at a computational cost close to standard DFT. Benchmark calculations show good agreement with QED-FCI and QED-CASCI for ground-state energies and polaritonic spectra. Applications to weakly bound dimers─including (H<sub>2</sub>)<sub>2</sub>, Ar<sub>2</sub>, (H<sub>2</sub>O)<sub>2</sub>, and HF─demonstrate that cavity confinement can significantly alter binding energies and geometries in a polarization-dependent manner. The framework provides an accurate and scalable tool for studying cavity-modified molecular structure and interactions.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation
Published
2026-02-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jctc.5c01973
Primary Topic
Strong Light-Matter Interactions
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Quantum-Electrodynamical Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory Description of Molecules in Optical Cavities

Cody Covington, Yetmgeta S. Aklilu, Matthew Shepherd, Kalman Varga
Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation
Strong Light-Matter Interactions
article

Quantum-Electrodynamical Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory Description of Molecules in Optical Cavities

Cody Covington, Yetmgeta S. Aklilu, Matthew Shepherd, Kalman Varga
article en

Abstract

We introduce a quantum-electrodynamical time-dependent density functional theory with a tensor-product representation (QED-TDDFT-TP) to model molecules strongly coupled to quantized cavity fields. By combining real-space electronic wave functions with truncated Fock-space photon states, the method captures light-matter correlations at a computational cost close to standard DFT. Benchmark calculations show good agreement with QED-FCI and QED-CASCI for ground-state energies and polaritonic spectra. Applications to weakly bound dimers─including (H<sub>2</sub>)<sub>2</sub>, Ar<sub>2</sub>, (H<sub>2</sub>O)<sub>2</sub>, and HF─demonstrate that cavity confinement can significantly alter binding energies and geometries in a polarization-dependent manner. The framework provides an accurate and scalable tool for studying cavity-modified molecular structure and interactions.

Journal of Chemical Theory and ComputationVol. 22(5)
Austin Peay State University (US), Vanderbilt University (US), Auburn University (US)
National Science Foundation, Division of Materials Research, Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 53%
Strong Light-Matter Interactions
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Quantum-Electrodynamical Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory Description of Molecules in Optical Cavities — Cody Covington, Yetmgeta S. Aklilu, et al. · Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS