Phonon spectral function of the Holstein polaron

The phonon spectral function of the one-dimensional Holstein model is obtained within weak-coupling and strong-coupling approximations based on analytical self-energy calculations. The characteristic excitations found in the limit of small charge-carrier density are related to the known (electronic) spectral properties of Holstein polarons such as the polaron band dispersion. Particular emphasis is laid on the different physics occurring in the adiabatic and anti-adiabatic regimes, respectively. Comparison is made with a cluster approach exploiting exact numerical results on small systems to yield an approximation for the thermodynamic limit. This method, similar to cluster perturbation theory, confirms the analytical findings, and also yields accurate results in the intermediate-coupling regime.