Lattice Dynamics of Solid C60

The lattice dynamics of C60 has been studied first by means of group theory and then by diagonalizing the dynamical matrix for two recently proposed intermolecular potentials. The libron and phonon energies are calculated as a function of momentum along various symmetry directions with and without phonon–libron interactions. The effects of these interactions on the density of states are also discussed. Explicit expressions for the energies of these modes at zero wave vector are given. It is found that both potential models have nearly the same phonon but a somewhat different libron spectrum. The calculated libron energies agree reasonably well with currently available experimental results.