Ab-initio calculation of optical absorption in semiconductors: A density-matrix description

We show how to describe Coulomb renormalization effects and dielectric screening in semiconductors and semiconductor nanostructures within a first-principles density-matrix description. Those dynamic variables and approximation schemes which are required for a proper description of dielectric screening are identified. It is shown that within the random-phase approximation the direct Coulomb interactions become screened, with static screening being a good approximation, whereas the electron-hole exchange interactions remain unscreened. Differences and similarities of our results with those obtained from a corresponding GW approximation and Bethe-Salpeter equation Green's function analysis are discussed.Comment: 10 pages, to be published in Physical Review

Theory of exciton-exciton correlation in nonlinear optical response

We present a systematic theory of Coulomb interaction effects in the nonlinear optical processes in semiconductors using a perturbation series in the exciting laser field. The third-order dynamical response consists of phase-space filling correction, mean-field exciton-exciton interaction, and two-exciton correlation effects expressed as a force-force correlation function. The theory provides a unified description of effects of bound and unbound biexcitons, including memory-effects beyond the Markovian approximation. Approximations for the correlation function are presented.Comment: RevTex, 35 pages, 10 PostScript figs, shorter version submitted to Physical Review

Estrutura interna de testes de cohecimento em Física : um exemplo em mecânica

Research findings are presented concerning the internal structure analysis of a multiple choice test constructed to detect whether or not the student has the Newtonian conception of the interrelationship between force and motion. These findings show that the test has two different but related factors: one subset of items checks students' ability to identify forces in certain physical situations according to the Newtonian view while another subset checks whether or not they relate the resultant force with acceleration. In addition, the analysis also shows that the two subsets have slightly different predicting power concerning student performance in mechanics. This kind of analysis might be very relevant for teacher's work regarding learning evaluation

Collective oscillations driven by correlation in the nonlinear optical regime

We present an analytical and numerical study of the coherent exciton polarization including exciton-exciton correlation. The time evolution after excitation with ultrashort optical pulses can be divided into a slowly varying polarization component and novel ultrafast collective modes. The frequency and damping of the collective modes are determined by the high-frequency properties of the retarded two-exciton correlation function, which includes Coulomb effects beyond the mean-field approximation. The overall time evolution depends on the low-frequency spectral behavior. The collective mode, well separated from the slower coherent density evolution, manifests itself in the coherent emission of a resonantly excited excitonic system, as demonstrated numerically.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

Resonant nature of phonon-induced damping of Rabi oscillations in quantum dots

Optically controlled coherent dynamics of charge (excitonic) degrees of freedom in a semiconductor quantum dot under the influence of lattice dynamics (phonons) is discussed theoretically. We show that the dynamics of the lattice response in the strongly non-linear regime is governed by a semiclassical resonance between the phonon modes and the optically driven dynamics. We stress on the importance of the stability of intermediate states for the truly coherent control.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; final version; moderate changes, new titl

Polariton propagation in weak confinement quantum wells

Exciton-polariton propagation in a quantum well, under centre-of-mass quantization, is computed by a variational self-consistent microscopic theory. The Wannier exciton envelope functions basis set is given by the simple analytical model of ref. [1], based on pure states of the centre-of-mass wave vector, free from fitting parameters and "ad hoc" (the so called additional boundary conditions-ABCs) assumptions. In the present paper, the former analytical model is implemented in order to reproduce the centre-of-mass quantization in a large range of quantum well thicknesses (5a_B < L < inf.). The role of the dynamical transition layer at the well/barrier interfaces is discussed at variance of the classical Pekar's dead-layer and ABCs. The Wannier exciton eigenstates are computed, and compared with various theoretical models with different degrees of accuracy. Exciton-polariton transmission spectra in large quantum wells (L>> a_B) are computed and compared with experimental results of Schneider et al.\cite{Schneider} in high quality GaAs samples. The sound agreement between theory and experiment allows to unambiguously assign the exciton-polariton dips of the transmission spectrum to the pure states of the Wannier exciton center-of-mass quantization.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures; will appear in Phys.Rev.

Ultrafast Coulomb-induced dynamics of 2D magnetoexcitons

We study theoretically the ultrafast nonlinear optical response of quantum well excitons in a perpendicular magnetic field. We show that for magnetoexcitons confined to the lowest Landau levels, the third-order four-wave-mixing (FWM) polarization is dominated by the exciton-exciton interaction effects. For repulsive interactions, we identify two regimes in the time-evolution of the optical polarization characterized by exponential and {\em power law} decay of the FWM signal. We describe these regimes by deriving an analytical solution for the memory kernel of the two-exciton wave-function in strong magnetic field. For strong exciton-exciton interactions, the decay of the FWM signal is governed by an antibound resonance with an interaction-dependent decay rate. For weak interactions, the continuum of exciton-exciton scattering states leads to a long tail of the time-integrated FWM signal for negative time delays, which is described by the product of a power law and a logarithmic factor. By combining this analytic solution with numerical calculations, we study the crossover between the exponential and non-exponential regimes as a function of magnetic field. For attractive exciton-exciton interaction, we show that the time-evolution of the FWM signal is dominated by the biexcitonic effects.Comment: 41 pages with 11 fig

Probing Interband Coulomb Interactions in Semiconductor Nanocrystals with 2D Double-Quantum Coherence Spectroscopy

Using previously developed exciton scattering model accounting for the interband, i.e., exciton-biexciton, Coulomb interactions in semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs), we derive a closed set of equations for 2D double-quantum coherence signal. The signal depends on the Liouville space pathways which include both the interband scattering processes and the inter- and intraband optical transitions. These processes correspond to the formation of different cross-peaks in the 2D spectra. We further report on our numerical calculations of the 2D signal using reduced level scheme parameterized for PbSe NCs. Two different NC excitation regimes considered and unique spectroscopic features associated with the interband Coulomb interactions are identified.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

Coupled free-carrier and exciton relaxation in optically excited semiconductors

The energy relaxation of coupled free-carrier and exciton populations in semiconductors after low-density ultrafast optical excitation is studied through a kinetic approach. The set of semiclassical Boltzmann equations, usually written for electron and hole populations only, is complemented by an additional equation for the exciton distribution. The equations are coupled by reaction terms describing phonon-mediated exciton binding and dissociation. All the other relevant scattering mechanisms, such as carrier-carrier, carrier-phonon, and exciton-phonon interactions, are also included. The resulting system of rate equations in reciprocal space is solved by an extended ensemble Monte Carlo method. As a first application, we show results for the dynamics of bulk GaAs in the range from 1 to ∼200 ps after photoexcitation. The build-up of an exciton population and its sensitivity to the excitation conditions are discussed in detail. As a consequence of the pronounced energy dependence of the LO-phonon-assisted transition probabilities between free-pair states and excitons, it is found that the efficiency of the exciton-formation process and the temporal evolution of the resulting population are sensitive to the excitation energy. We discuss the effects on luminescence experiments

Multi-wave coherent control of a solid-state single emitter

The authors acknowledge support by the European Research Council Starting Grant 'PICSEN' contract no. 306387.Coherent control of individual two-level systems (TLSs) is at the basis of any implementation of quantum information. An impressive level of control is now achieved using nuclear, vacancies and charge spins. Manipulation of bright exciton transitions in semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) is less advanced, principally due to the sub-nanosecond dephasing. Conversely, owing to their robust coupling to light, one can apply tools of nonlinear spectroscopy to achieve all-optical command. Here, we report on the coherent manipulation of an exciton via multi-wave mixing. Specifically, we employ three resonant pulses driving a single InAs QD. The first two induce a four-wave mixing (FWM) transient, which is projected onto a six-wave mixing (SWM) depending on the delay and area of the third pulse, in agreement with analytical predictions. Such a switch enables to demonstrate the generation of SWM on a single emitter and to engineer the spectro-temporal shape of the coherent response originating from a TLS. These results pave the way toward multi-pulse manipulations of solid state qubits via implementing the NMR-like control schemes in the optical domain.PostprintPeer reviewe