Disorder-enhanced quantum transport and quantum information spreading in the presence of cavity QED

Quantum transport and quantum information spreading have been recognized as key signatures of quantum thermalization in many-body systems. However, a significant challenge to achieving efficient transport in these systems is the presence of disorder, which typically suppresses site-to-site hopping, thereby hindering transport. In this work, we theoretically propose a novel approach to overcoming the detrimental effects of disorder by strongly coupling the disordered system to a cavity mode. The cavity photon acts as a mediator of long-range interactions, effectively bridging spatially separated sites and creating an additional transport channel, cavity-mediated jumping. Through our analysis of quantum trajectory dynamics, we demonstrate that the long-range transport mediated by the cavity competes with the conventional site-to-site hopping mechanism. Notably, when disorder suppresses the direct hopping between sites, transport predominantly occurs through cavity-mediated jumping, with occasional resonance facilitating efficient energy transfer. As a result, the presence of the cavity enables disorder within certain ranges to actually enhance transport efficiency, leading to the counterintuitive finding that disordered systems can outperform homogeneous systems in terms of long-range transport. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of quantum thermalization in the presence of long-range interactions and provide a foundation for designing next-generation materials that exploit hybrid light-matter states to optimize quantum transport and quantum information spreading.