Long-range Coulomb interaction effects on polarons in conjugated polymers

Abstract

Combining the Su–Schrieffer–Heeger and Pariser–Parr–Pople model (SSH+PPP), we have studied the influence of electron–electron interactions on the motion and dissociation of a polaron in the presence of an electric field, with emphasis on the long-range Coulomb interactions. The multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree–Fock (MCTDHF) formalism was used to compute the electron–electron interactions. How the saturated velocity and the critical dissociation electric field of the polaron are related to the on-site Coulomb repulsion and long-range Coulomb interactions has been investigated. It was found that the on-site Coulomb interaction does not favor the motion of a polaron. There is a critical strength of the long-range Coulomb interaction for which the polaron takes on the most localized configuration. Comparing with the results obtained using the extended Hubbard model, we found that competition between the long-range Coulomb interactions and the on-site Coulomb interaction leads to a non-monotonic dependence of both the saturated velocity and the critical dissociation electric field on the long-range Coulomb interactions.