Phonon controlled transmission properties of metasurfaces under strong light–matter coupling

In the strong light–matter coupling regime, the transmission properties of metasurfaces have a remarkable similarity to those of typical two-level systems. In this work, we explore the absorption spectra of a metasurface coupled to a quantum phonon bath using the time-dependent variational principle and the flexible multi-D2 Davydov trial states. In the weak light–matter coupling regime, phonon coupling has minimal impact on system dissipation. However, in the strong coupling regime, it significantly influences dissipation dynamics. Additionally, a phonon bath with a selected number of strongly coupled modes near the phonon center line substantially narrows the absorption spectrum linewidth by controlling dissipation through a few phonon channels. These findings demonstrate the critical role of the phonon bath in shaping metasurface transmission properties, offering a promising approach for the precise engineering of metasurfaces.