Interacting Electron–Hole–Phonon System

Abstract

Abstract Chapter 11 employs variational differential techniques and the Schwinger Action Principle to derive coupled-field Green’s function equations for a multi-component system, modeled as an interacting electron-hole-phonon system. The coupled Fermion Green’s function equations involve five interactions (electron-electron, hole-hole, electron-hole, electron-phonon, and hole-phonon). Starting with quantum Hamilton equations of motion for the various electron/hole creation/annihilation operators and their nonequilibrium average/expectation values, variational differentiation with respect to particle sources leads to a chain of coupled Green’s function equations involving differing species of Green’s functions. For example, the 1-electron Green’s function equation is coupled to the 2-electron Green’s function (as earlier), also to the 1-electron/1-hole Green’s function, and to the Green’s function for 1-electron propagation influenced by a nontrivial phonon field. Similar remarks apply to the 1-hole Green’s function equation, and all others. Higher order Green’s function equations are derived by further variational differentiation with respect to sources, yielding additional couplings. Chapter 11 also introduces the 1-phonon Green’s function, emphasizing the role of electron coupling in phonon propagation, leading to dynamic, nonlocal electron screening of the phonon spectrum and hybridization of the ion and electron plasmons, a Bohm-Staver phonon mode, and the Kohn anomaly. Furthermore, the single-electron Green’s function with only phonon coupling can be rewritten, as usual, coupled to the 2-electron Green’s function with an effective time-dependent electron-electron interaction potential mediated by the 1-phonon Green’s function, leading to the polaron as an electron propagating jointly with its induced lattice polarization. An alternative formulation of the coupled Green’s function equations for the electron-hole-phonon model is applied in the development of a generalized shielded potential approximation, analysing its inverse dielectric screening response function and associated hybridized collective modes. A brief discussion of the (theoretical) origin of the exciton-plasmon interaction follows.