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DYNAMICS OF A STRONGLY COUPLED POLARON

Rupert L. Frank, Benjamin Schlein

Published Aug 17, 2016• 20 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We study the dynamics of large polarons described by the Fröhlich Hamiltonian in the limit of strong coupling. The initial conditions are (perturbations of) product states of an electron wave function and a phonon coherent state, as suggested by Pekar. We show that, to leading order on the natural time scale of the problem, the phonon field is stationary and the electron moves according to an effective linear Schrödinger equation.

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Landau–Pekar equations and quantum fluctuations for the dynamics of a strongly coupled polaron

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We consider the Fröhlich Hamiltonian with large coupling constant $α$. For initial data of Pekar product form with coherent phonon field and with the electron minimizing the corresponding energy, we provide a norm approximation of the evolution, valid up to times of order $α^2$. The approximation is given in terms of a Pekar product state, evolved through the Landau-Pekar equations, corrected by a Bogoliubov dynamics taking quantum fluctuations into account. This allows us to show that the Landau-Pekar equations approximately describe the evolution of the electron- and one-phonon reduced density matrices under the Fröhlich dynamics up to times of order $α^2$.

arXiv:2005.02098•Pure and Applied Analysis•Dec 31, 2021•15 citations

A note on the Fröhlich dynamics in the strong coupling limit

David Mitrouskas

Abstract We revise a previous result about the Fröhlich dynamics in the strong coupling limit obtained in Griesemer (Rev Math Phys 29(10):1750030, 2017). In the latter it was shown that the Fröhlich time evolution applied to the initial state $$\varphi _0 \otimes \xi _\alpha $$ φ0⊗ξα , where $$\varphi _0$$ φ0 is the electron ground state of the Pekar energy functional and $$\xi _\alpha $$ ξα the associated coherent state of the phonons, can be approximated by a global phase for times small compared to $$\alpha ^2$$ α2 . In the present note we prove that a similar approximation holds for $$t=O(\alpha ^2)$$ t=O(α2) if one includes a nontrivial effective dynamics for the phonons that is generated by an operator proportional to $$\alpha ^{-2}$$ α-2 and quadratic in creation and annihilation operators. Our result implies that the electron ground state remains close to its initial state for times of order $$\alpha ^2$$ α2 , while the phonon fluctuations around the coherent state $$\xi _\alpha $$ ξα can be described by a time-dependent Bogoliubov transformation.

arXiv:2003.11448•Letters in Mathematical Physics•Apr 1, 2021•11 citations

A note on the Fröhlich dynamics in the strong coupling limit

David Mitrouskas

We revise a previous result about the Fröhlich dynamics in the strong coupling limit obtained in Griesemer (Rev Math Phys 29(10):1750030, 2017). In the latter it was shown that the Fröhlich time evolution applied to the initial state ϕ0 ⊗ξα, where ϕ0 is the electron ground state of the Pekar energy functional and ξα the associated coherent state of the phonons, can be approximated by a global phase for times small compared to α2. In the present note we prove that a similar approximation holds for t = O(α2) if one includes a nontrivial effective dynamics for the phonons that is generated by an operator proportional to α-2 and quadratic in creation and annihilation operators. Our result implies that the electron ground state remains close to its initial state for times of order α2, while the phonon fluctuations around the coherent state ξα can be described by a time-dependent Bogoliubov transformation.

•Jan 1, 2021•14 citations

A generalized functional approach to the polaron problem

Sergey Gorshkov, Victor Dmitrievich Lakhno, K. Rodriges +1 more

It is well known that two qualitatively different pictures arise in the description of the motion of an electron in an ionic crystal. In the first case, when the electron interacts weakly with the ionic lattice of the crystal, its motion is the same as the motion of a free band electron whose energy is shifted downward with respect to the bottom of the conduction band, and the effective mass is replaced by the renormalized mass (weak-coupling polaron). In the other limiting case, when the electron interacts strongly with the ionic crystal, an entire series of different self-consistent states of the electron and lattice, each of which has its own effective mass and radius (strong-coupling polaron), arises. Although the motion of an electron in an ionic crystal is described in both limiting cases with the help of the Pekar-Frohlich Hamiltonian, each case requires its own special methods of analysis. Thus, for example, in the strong-coupling theory a special form of adiabatic perturbation theory has been developed in which the trans-lational degeneracy is removed before the perturbation expansion is made. It has been possible to relate both descriptions within the framework of Feynman's varia-tional approach, in which a smooth upper bound was obtained for the energy of the ground state of the polaron for all values of the electron-phonon coupling constant a (see Fig. 1). We call attention in this connection to Ref. 6, where the thermodynamic properties are calculated with the help of a special method for performing the calculations and for finding averages of T-products. The approach developed there is more convenient for performing specific calculations than is the use of path integrals. It seems to us that it has definite advantages in the construction of general proofs concerning the choice of the approximating Hamiltonians (this is illustrated in Ref. 6 for the example of the linear Bogolyubov model), in the investigation of the characteristics of the behavior of a polaron in external fields, etc.

Soviet physics. Doklady•Oct 1, 1984•0 citations

STATICS AND DYNAMICS OF COUPLED ELECTRON–PHONON SYSTEMS

S. A. Trugman, J. Bonča, Li-Chung Ku

We review recent variational methods that provide extremely accurate solutions for the problem of one and two electrons coupled to dynamical, quantum phonons, including retardation effects. The dynamics of these systems far from equilibrium is explored, including the dynamics of polaron formation after electron injection by an STM. An examination of three-point functions suggests a qualitative modification of the traditional picture of a polaron. Long-range electron–phonon interactions are studied in some generality, including vector and frustrated Fröhlich models, and bounds are obtained on the possible mass enhancement.

International Journal of Modern Physics B•Aug 10, 2001•17 citations

Strong-Coupling Solutions of the Fröhlich Hamiltonian

Ashok Chatterjee, Soma Mukhopadhyay

This chapter describes some of the most important theories of the strong-coupling polaron. The nature of polarons in the strong-coupling limit is in some sense qualitatively different from the weak or intermediate-coupling polaron—the localization of a polaron being a case in point. Though a qualitative picture of a strong-coupling polaron is easy to visualize as opposed to the weak-coupling polaron, the mathematical formulation of a strongly coupled polaron is rather a difficult problem from the quantum mechanical point of view. In fact, the exact polaron energy in the weak-coupling limit can be obtained from the Frohlich Hamiltonian analytically, while the same is not possible in the strong-coupling limit. In the strong-coupling case, the electron velocity is much larger than the phonon frequency and therefore electron can follow the ion motion adiabatically. The adiabatic expansion of the polaron energy in the strong-coupling regime was reported by Bogoliubov and Tiablikov.

CRC Press eBooks•Oct 9, 2018•0 citations
We study the dynamics of large polarons described by the Fröhlich Hamiltonian in the limit of strong coupling. The initial conditions are (perturbations of) product states of an electron wave function and a phonon coherent state, as suggested by Pekar. We show that, to leading order on the natural time scale of the problem, the phonon field is stationary and the electron moves according to an effective linear Schrödinger equation.
We consider the Fröhlich Hamiltonian with large coupling constant ααα. For initial data of Pekar product form with coherent phonon field and with the electron minimizing the corresponding energy, we provide a norm approximation of the evolution, valid up to times of order α2α^2α2. The approximation is given in terms of a Pekar product state, evolved through the Landau-Pekar equations, corrected by a Bogoliubov dynamics taking quantum fluctuations into account. This allows us to show that the Landau-Pekar equations approximately describe the evolution of the electron- and one-phonon reduced density matrices under the Fröhlich dynamics up to times of order α2α^2α2.
Abstract We revise a previous result about the Fröhlich dynamics in the strong coupling limit obtained in Griesemer (Rev Math Phys 29(10):1750030, 2017). In the latter it was shown that the Fröhlich time evolution applied to the initial state φ0⊗ξα\varphi _0 \otimes \xi _\alpha φ0​⊗ξα​ φ0⊗ξα , where φ0\varphi _0φ0​ φ0 is the electron ground state of the Pekar energy functional and ξα\xi _\alpha ξα​ ξα the associated coherent state of the phonons, can be approximated by a global phase for times small compared to α2\alpha ^2α2 α2 . In the present note we prove that a similar approximation holds for t=O(α2)t=O(\alpha ^2)t=O(α2) t=O(α2) if one includes a nontrivial effective dynamics for the phonons that is generated by an operator proportional to α−2\alpha ^{-2}α−2 α-2 and quadratic in creation and annihilation operators. Our result implies that the electron ground state remains close to its initial state for times of order α2\alpha ^2α2 α2 , while the phonon fluctuations around the coherent state ξα\xi _\alpha ξα​ ξα can be described by a time-dependent Bogoliubov transformation.
We revise a previous result about the Fröhlich dynamics in the strong coupling limit obtained in Griesemer (Rev Math Phys 29(10):1750030, 2017). In the latter it was shown that the Fröhlich time evolution applied to the initial state ϕ0 ⊗ξα, where ϕ0 is the electron ground state of the Pekar energy functional and ξα the associated coherent state of the phonons, can be approximated by a global phase for times small compared to α2. In the present note we prove that a similar approximation holds for t = O(α2) if one includes a nontrivial effective dynamics for the phonons that is generated by an operator proportional to α-2 and quadratic in creation and annihilation operators. Our result implies that the electron ground state remains close to its initial state for times of order α2, while the phonon fluctuations around the coherent state ξα can be described by a time-dependent Bogoliubov transformation.
It is well known that two qualitatively different pictures arise in the description of the motion of an electron in an ionic crystal. In the first case, when the electron interacts weakly with the ionic lattice of the crystal, its motion is the same as the motion of a free band electron whose energy is shifted downward with respect to the bottom of the conduction band, and the effective mass is replaced by the renormalized mass (weak-coupling polaron). In the other limiting case, when the electron interacts strongly with the ionic crystal, an entire series of different self-consistent states of the electron and lattice, each of which has its own effective mass and radius (strong-coupling polaron), arises. Although the motion of an electron in an ionic crystal is described in both limiting cases with the help of the Pekar-Frohlich Hamiltonian, each case requires its own special methods of analysis. Thus, for example, in the strong-coupling theory a special form of adiabatic perturbation theory has been developed in which the trans-lational degeneracy is removed before the perturbation expansion is made. It has been possible to relate both descriptions within the framework of Feynman's varia-tional approach, in which a smooth upper bound was obtained for the energy of the ground state of the polaron for all values of the electron-phonon coupling constant a (see Fig. 1). We call attention in this connection to Ref. 6, where the thermodynamic properties are calculated with the help of a special method for performing the calculations and for finding averages of T-products. The approach developed there is more convenient for performing specific calculations than is the use of path integrals. It seems to us that it has definite advantages in the construction of general proofs concerning the choice of the approximating Hamiltonians (this is illustrated in Ref. 6 for the example of the linear Bogolyubov model), in the investigation of the characteristics of the behavior of a polaron in external fields, etc.
We review recent variational methods that provide extremely accurate solutions for the problem of one and two electrons coupled to dynamical, quantum phonons, including retardation effects. The dynamics of these systems far from equilibrium is explored, including the dynamics of polaron formation after electron injection by an STM. An examination of three-point functions suggests a qualitative modification of the traditional picture of a polaron. Long-range electron–phonon interactions are studied in some generality, including vector and frustrated Fröhlich models, and bounds are obtained on the possible mass enhancement.
This chapter describes some of the most important theories of the strong-coupling polaron. The nature of polarons in the strong-coupling limit is in some sense qualitatively different from the weak or intermediate-coupling polaron—the localization of a polaron being a case in point. Though a qualitative picture of a strong-coupling polaron is easy to visualize as opposed to the weak-coupling polaron, the mathematical formulation of a strongly coupled polaron is rather a difficult problem from the quantum mechanical point of view. In fact, the exact polaron energy in the weak-coupling limit can be obtained from the Frohlich Hamiltonian analytically, while the same is not possible in the strong-coupling limit. In the strong-coupling case, the electron velocity is much larger than the phonon frequency and therefore electron can follow the ion motion adiabatically. The adiabatic expansion of the polaron energy in the strong-coupling regime was reported by Bogoliubov and Tiablikov.