Polaron in a one-dimensional ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ crystal

Polaron states in a linear chain of fullerenes have been investigated using the Su-Shriffer-Heeger model supplemented by the Hubbard on-site Coulomb energy. The model is solved numerically within the adiabatic approximation. In this study, the electron charge distribution over the molecular surface, Jahn-Teller distortions of bonds between carbon atoms, and the density of electron states have been calculated self-consistently for a linear chain of ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ molecules with one extra electron or hole. It is shown that the structure of an electron or hole polaron in the chain differs from the structure of the polaron in a single molecule. These distinctions are caused by both the conjugation of $\pi$ electrons on the nearest-neighbor molecules and electron-electron correlation. Finally, the critical value of the intermolecular hopping integral for the existence of a self-trapped charge carrier due to the lattice distortion has been determined.