Lattice Dynamics Effects on Small Polaron Properties

This study details the conditions under which strong-coupling perturbation theory can be applied to the molecular crystal model, a fundamental theoretical tool for analysis of the polaron properties. I show that lattice dimensionality and intermolecular forces play a key role in imposing constraints on the applicability of the perturbative approach. The polaron effective mass has been computed in different regimes ranging from the fully antiadiabatic to the fully adiabatic. The polaron masses become essentially dimension independent for sufficiently strong intermolecular coupling strengths and converge to much lower values than those traditionally obtained in small-polaron theory. I find evidence for a self-trapping transition in a moderately adiabatic regime at an electron-phonon coupling value of .3. Our results point to a substantial independence of the self-trapping event on dimensionality.