Vibrations and Berry Phases of Charged Buckminsterfullerene

TL;DR

This paper models electron-vibron interactions in buckminsterfullerene ions, revealing how electronic degeneracies induce Jahn-Teller distortions and Berry phases that influence vibrational spectra and superconductivity.

Contribution

It introduces a semiclassical model linking Jahn-Teller effects, Berry phases, and vibrational spectra in buckminsterfullerene ions, highlighting their role in superconductivity.

Findings

Electronic degeneracies cause Jahn-Teller distortions in C60 ions.

Berry phases influence vibrational spectra and zero-point fluctuations.

Results are relevant to understanding superconductivity in alkali-fullerenes.

Abstract

A simple model of electron-vibron interactions in buckminsterfullerene ions is solved semiclassically. Electronic degeneracies of C$_{60}$$^{n-}$ induce dynamical Jahn-Teller distortions, which are unimodal for $n\!\ne\!3$ and bimodal for $n\!=\!3$. The quantization of motion along the Jahn-Teller manifold leads to a symmetric-top rotator Hamiltonian. I find Molecular Aharonov-Bohm effects where electronic Berry phases determine the vibrational spectra, zero point fluctuations, and electrons' pair binding energies. The latter are relevant to superconductivity in alkali-fullerenes.