Coherent state polarons in quantum wells

Abstract

We investigate the polaronic effects of an electron confined in a quantum well, which we describe through its algebraic properties using su(1,1), taking into account the electron-bulk longitudinal-optical phonon interaction. We construct the variational wave function as the direct product of an electronic part and a part describing coherent phonons generated by the Low–Lee–Pines transformation from the vacuum state. We use two explicit forms of coherent states, Perelomov and Barut-Girardello states, to represent the electronic part in the quantum well spectrum. Our results show that in a coherent state basis for electrons the basic polaron parameters such as the energy gap shift and effective mass are further enhanced compared to those obtained with the conventional sinusoidal form of the basis. The difference between the two types of quantum well coherent states appears in polaronic interactions in quantum wells. We extend the calculations in order to estimate polaron lifetimes for a variety of different material systems.