Polarons in two-dimensional atomic crystals

Polarons are quasiparticles that emerge from the interaction of fermionic particles with bosonic fields(1). In crystalline solids, polarons form when electrons and holes become dressed by lattice vibrations. While experimental signatures of polarons in bulk three-dimensional materials abound(4-14), only rarely have polarons been observed in two-dimensional atomic crystals. Here, we shed light on this asymmetry by developing a quantitative ab initio theory of polarons in atomically thin crystals. Using this conceptual framework, we determine the real-space structure of the recently observed hole polaron in hexagonal boron nitride, discover a critical condition for the existence of polarons in two-dimensional crystals and establish the key materials descriptors and the universal laws that underpin polaron physics in two dimensions.

Automated summary

In this study, a quantitative ab initio theory of polarons in atomically thin crystals is developed. The real-space structure of the recently observed hole polaron in hexagonal boron nitride is determined, and a critical condition for the existence of polarons in two-dimensional crystals is discovered. The key materials descriptors and universal laws underlying polaron physics in two dimensions are established.