Many-polaron interactions at finite carrier densities

Develop ab initio methods to describe polaron–polaron interactions at finite carrier densities, including collective phenomena such as ordering, phase separation, and phase diagrams, by treating electron–phonon and electron–electron correlations on equal footing in real materials.

Background

While single-polaron behavior is increasingly well understood, realistic materials often operate at finite carrier densities where polaron–polaron interactions and collective effects become important. The review notes that this regime is largely unexplored from first principles.

A predictive theory would clarify how polarons interact, order, or melt with doping, and connect to transport and optical properties in doped semiconductors and oxides.

References

Here, we limit ourselves to drawing the reader's attention to six open questions that in our view are the most urgent. Third, polaron-polaron interactions at finite carrier densities remain largely uncharted territory.

— Polarons from first principles (2512.06176 - Dai et al., 5 Dec 2025) in Section 7: Conclusions and Outlook