Abstract
The optical polaron bounded in a Coulomb potential is investigated within the modified variational scheme of the Lee-Low-Pines theory (1953) which is valid for the whole range of the electron-phonon coupling. The ground state energy, the mean number of phonons in the cloud around the electron and the spatial localisation of the electron for the optical polaron change abruptly at certain values of the electron-phonon coupling constant alpha and of the Coulomb potential beta . The polaron changes its state according to the values of the parameters alpha and beta . Such features are summarised in the phase diagram.