  Starting from a model of rigid interacting C60 polymer chains on an
orthorhombic lattice, we study the mutual orientation of the chains and the
stability of the crystalline structures Pmnn and I2/m. We take into account i)
van der Waals interactions and electric quadrupole interactions between C60
monomers on different chains as well as ii) interactions of the monomers with
the surrounding alkali atoms. The direct interactions i) always lead to an
antiferrorotational structure Pmnn with alternate orientation of the C60 chains
in planes (001). The interactions ii) with the alkalis consist of two parts:
translation-rotation (TR) coupling where the orientations of the chains
interact with displacements of the alkalis, and quadrupolar electronic
polarizability (ep) coupling, where the electric quadrupoles on the C60
monomers interact with induced quadrupoles due to excited electronic d states
of the alkalis. Both interactions ii) lead to an effective
orientation-orientation interaction between the C60 chains and always favor the
ferrorotational structure I2/m where C60 chains have a same orientation. The
structures Pmnn for KC60 and I2/m for Rb- and CsC60 are the result of a
competition between the direct interaction i) and the alkali-mediated
interactions ii). In Rb- and CsC60 the latter are found to be dominant, the
preponderant role being played by the quadrupolar electronic polarizability of
the alkali ions.
