Domain-Wall Ferroelectric Polarons in a Two-Dimensional Rotor Lattice Model

We demonstrate the formation of ferroelectric domain-wall polarons in a minimal two-dimensional lattice model of electrons interacting with rotating dipoles. Along the domain wall, the rotors polarize in opposite directions, causing the electron to localize along a particular lattice direction. The rotor-electron coupling is identified as the origin of a structural instability in the crystal that leads to the domain-wall formation via a symmetry-breaking process. Our results provide the first theoretical description of ferroelectric polarons, as discussed in the context of soft semiconductors. Published by the American Physical Society 2025