Spectral Properties of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger Model

TL;DR

This paper investigates the spectral properties of the one-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model using a diagrammatic perturbative approach, revealing how electron quasiparticle behavior changes across different phonon regimes and the emergence of polaron formation.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the spectral function and effective mass in the SSH model, highlighting novel features in the intermediate electron-phonon coupling regime.

Findings

Electrons are good quasiparticles in adiabatic and antiadiabatic limits.

Spectral weight spreads among multiple peaks at intermediate couplings.

Polaron formation is favored at larger electron-phonon couplings.

Abstract

We present a study of the one dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model Hamiltonian by a diagrammatic perturbative method in the weak electron-phonon coupling regime. Exact computation of both the charge carrier effective mass and the electron spectral function shows that electrons are good quasiparticles in the adiabatic and antiadiabatic limits but novel features emerge in the intermediate regime, where the phonons and the electrons compare on the energy scale. Together with a sizeable mass enhancement we observe, in the latter regime, a spread of the spectral weight (among several transition peaks) associated with an increased relevance of multiphonons contributions at larger {\it e-ph} couplings. Accordingly electrons cease to be the good quasiparticles and an onset of polaron formation is favoured.