Model of the electron-phonon interaction and optical conductivity of Ba _1-xK _xBiO ₃ superconductors

We investigate the physical properties of the Ba _1-xK _xBiO ₃ compounds with a focus on the optical properties. Results from the simple Holstein model, describing a single band coupled to an oxygen breathing mode with parameters derived from first principles calculations, are in excellent agreement with a broad range of experimental information. It accounts for an insulating parent compound at x=0, with a direct (optical) and an indirect gap, and a metal insulator transition around x=0.38. Strong electron-phonon coupling leads to spectral weight redistribution over a frequency scale much larger than the characteristic phonon frequency and to strongly anharmonic phonons. We find that the metallic phase in the vicinity of phase boundary is close to the polaronic regime.