Molecular plasmonics: The role of rovibrational molecular states in exciton-plasmon materials under strong-coupling conditions

We extend the model of exciton-plasmon materials to include a rovibrational structure of molecules using wave-packet propagations on electronic potential energy surfaces. Our model replaces conventional two-level emitters with more complex molecules, allowing us to examine the influence of alignment and vibrational dynamics on strong coupling with surface plasmon-polaritons. We apply the model to a hybrid system comprising a thin layer of molecules placed on top of a periodic array of slits. Rigorous simulations are performed for two types of molecular systems described by vibrational bound-bound and bound-continuum electronic transitions. Calculations reveal new features in transmission, reflection, and absorption spectra, including the observation of significantly higher values of the Rabi splitting and vibrational patterns clearly seen in the corresponding spectra. We also examine the influence of anisotropic initial conditions on optical properties of hybrid materials, demonstrating that the optical response of the system is significantly affected by an initial prealignment of the molecules. Our work demonstrates that prealigned molecules could serve as an efficient probe for the subdiffraction characterization of the near-field near metal interfaces.