arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Ulrich Hohenester.
Optical spectroscopy and quantum control of semiconductor quantum dots has become a vivid field of research. The recent progress in both theory and experiment is reviewed, with emphasis on theoretical and computational concepts.
We discuss the properties of few electrons and electron-hole pairs confined in coupled semiconductor quantum dots, with emphasis on correlation effects and the role of tunneling. We shall discuss, in particular, exact diagonalization results for biexciton binding energy, electron-hole localization, magnetic-field induced Wigner molecules, and spin ordering.
We calculate the near-field optical spectra of excitons and biexcitons in semiconductor quantum dots naturally occurring at interface fluctuations in GaAs-based quantum wells, using a non-local description of the response function to a spatially modulated electro-magnetic field. The relative intensity of the lowest, far-field forbidden excitonic states is predicted; the spatial extension of the ground biexciton state is found in agreement with recently published experiments.
The phonon-induced dephasing dynamics in optically excited semiconductor quantum dots is studied within the frameworks of the independent Boson model and optimal control. We show that appropriate tailoring of laser pulses allows a complete control of the optical excitation despite the phonon dephasing, a finding in marked contrast to other environment couplings.
We employ the quantum-jump approach to study single scatterings in single semiconductor quantum dots. Two prototypical situations are investigated. First, we analyze two-photon emissions from the cascade biexciton decay of a dot where the single-exciton states exhibit a fine-structure splitting. We show that this splitting results for appropriately chosen polarization filters in an oscillatory behavior of two-photon correlations, and carefully examine the proper theoretical description of the underlying scattering processes. Secondly, we analyze the decay of a single-electron charged exciton in a quantum dot embedded in a field effect structure. We show how the quantum properties of the charged exciton are transferred through tunneling and relaxation to the spin entanglement between electrons in the dot and contact, and identify the pertinent disentanglement mechanisms.
We propose a single-electron doped quantum dot in a field-effect structure as an optically triggered turnstile for spin-entangled electrons. A short laser pulse excites a charged exciton, whose quantum properties are transferred through tunneling and relaxation to the spin entanglement between electrons in the dot and contact. We identify the pertinent disentanglement mechanisms, and discuss experimental detection and possible application schemes.
An intense laser pulse propagating in a medium of inhomogeneously broadened quantum dots massively creates entangled exciton states. After passage of the pulse all single-exciton states remain unpopulated (self-induced transparency) whereas biexciton coherence (exciton entanglement) is generated through two-photon transitions. We propose several experimental techniques for the observation of such unexpected behavior.
Coherent carrier control in quantum nanostructures is studied within the framework of Optimal Control. We develop a general solution scheme for the optimization of an external control (e.g., lasers pulses), which allows to channel the system's wavefunction between two given states in its most efficient way; physically motivated constraints, such as limited laser resources or population suppression of certain states, can be accounted for through a general cost functional. Using a generic three-level scheme for the quantum system, we demonstrate the applicability of our approach and identify the pertinent calculation and convergence parameters.
We present a theoretical analysis of four-wave mixing in coupled quantum dots subject to inhomogeneous broadening. For the biexciton transitions a clear signature of interdot-coupling appears in the spectra. The possibility of experimental observation is discussed.
Using a master-equation approach for the description of coherent and incoherent dynamics in `artificial atoms and molecules', we present a theoretical analysis of situations where intense laser fields lead to pronounced renormalizations of carrier states. Such enhanced light-matter interactions allow for the solid-state implementation of effects hitherto only observable in atomic systems. Two prototypical examples will be presented: first, we show how two intense laser pulses can be exploited for a robust and high-fidelity population transfer of carrier states in coupled quantum dots; second, we discuss the possibility of observing self-induced transparency in a sample of inhomogenously broadened quantum dots, a phenomenon where intense laser pulses propagate without suffering significant losses.
We theoretically investigate correlated electron-hole states in vertically coupled quantum dots. Employing a prototypical double-dot confinement and a configuration-interaction description for the electron-hole states, it is shown that the few-particle ground state undergoes transitions between different quantum states as a function of the interdot distance, resulting in unexpected spatial correlations among carriers and in electron-hole localization. Such transitions provide a direct manifestations of inter- and intradot correlations, which can be directly monitored in experiments.
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.
The many-body state of carriers confined in a quantum dot is controlled by the balance between their kinetic energy and their Coulomb correlation. In coupled quantum dots, both can be tuned by varying the inter-dot tunneling and interactions. Using a theoretical approach based on the diagonalization of the exact Hamiltonian, we show that transitions between different quantum phases can be induced through inter-dot coupling both for a system of few electrons (or holes) and for aggregates of electrons and holes. We discuss their manifestations in addition energy spectra (accessible through capacitance or transport experiments) and optical spectra.
We propose an all-optical implementation of quantum-information processing in semiconductor quantum dots, where electron-hole excitations (excitons) serve as the computational degrees of freedom (qubits). The strong dot confinement leads to a strong renormalization of excitonic states, which, in analogy to NMR-based implementations of quantum-information processing, can be exploited for performing conditional and unconditional qubit operations.
The quantum-jump approach is used for a theoretical description of resonance luminescence from a {\em single} semiconductor quantum dot in contact with its solid-state environment. For continuous excitation of the single-exciton groundstate the luminescence exhibits bright periods, where photons are spontaneously emitted from the exciton decay, which are interrupted by dark periods when one electron or hole suffers a spin flip. It is shown that continuously monitored resonance luminescence provides a very sensitive measure of such rare single scattering events in quantum dots.
We propose a solid-state implementation of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage in two coupled semiconductor quantum dots. Proper combination of two pulsed laser fields allows the coherent carrier transfer between the two nanostructures without suffering significant losses due to environment coupling. By use of a general solution scheme for the carrier states in the double-dot structure, we identify the pertinent dot and laser parameters.
We propose an all-optical implementation of quantum-information processing in semiconductor quantum dots, where electron-hole excitations (excitons) serve as the computational degrees of freedom (qubits). We show that the strong dot confinement leads to an overall enhancement of Coulomb correlations and to a strong renormalization of the excitonic states, which can be exploited for performing conditional and unconditional qubit operations.
We present a consistent theoretical description of few-particle effects in the optical spectra of semiconductor quantum dots, based on a direct-diagonalization approach. We show that, because of the strong Coulomb interaction among electrons and holes, each configuration of the confined few-particle system leads to its characteristic signature in the optical spectra. We discuss quantitative predictions and comparison with experiments for both absorption and luminescence.