polaron Physics.
(ˈpəʊlərɒn)
[f. polarization and related words + -on1; orig. formed as Russ. polyarón (S. Pekar 1946, in Zh. eksper. i teoret. Fiziki XVI. 344).]
A quasi-particle consisting of a free electron in an ionic crystal and the associated distortion of the crystal lattice.
| 1946 S. Pekar in Jrnl. Physics (Moscow) X. 343/2 Such local self-consistent quantum states of the electron in a crystal we shall briefly call polarons. 1955 Physical Rev. XCVII. 660/1 An electron moving with its accompanying distortion of the lattice has sometimes been called a polaron. 1969 Nature 15 Nov. 641/2 The interaction between an electron and its strain field in a polar solid gives rise to the excitation known as a polaron, the presence of which can be detected by irregularities in the shape of the conduction band. 1971 Mott & Davis Electronic Processes in Non-Crystalline Materials iv. 115 At low temperatures a polaron, whether large or small,..will behave exactly like a heavy particle, being scattered by impurities or lattice vibrations; moreover a high density of polarons can form a degenerate gas. |
Hence polaˈronic a.
| 1978 Nature 16 Feb. 647/1 There will..be some stored energy involved in the system due to the polaronic nature of the moving charge carrier. |