Electronic double-excitations in quantum wells: solving the two-time Kadanoff-Baym equations

For a quantum many-body system, the direct population of states of double-excitation character is a clear indication that correlations importantly contribute to its nonequilibrium properties. We analyze such correlation-induced transitions by propagating the nonequilibrium Green's functions in real-time within the second Born approximation. As crucial benchmarks, we compute the absorption spectrum of few electrons confined in quantum wells of different width. Our results include the full two-time solution of the Kadanoff-Baym equations as well as of their time-diagonal limit and are compared to Hartree-Fock and exact diagonalization data

Non-equilibrium Green's function approach to inhomogeneous quantum many-body systems using the Generalized Kadanoff Baym Ansatz

In non-equilibrium Green's function calculations the use of the Generalized Kadanoff-Baym Ansatz (GKBA) allows for a simple approximate reconstruction of the two-time Green's function from its time-diagonal value. With this a drastic reduction of the computational needs is achieved in time-dependent calculations, making longer time propagation possible and more complex systems accessible. This paper gives credit to the GKBA that was introduced 25 years ago. After a detailed derivation of the GKBA, we recall its application to homogeneous systems and show how to extend it to strongly correlated, inhomogeneous systems. As a proof of concept, we present results for a 2-electron quantum well, where the correct treatment of the correlated electron dynamics is crucial for the correct description of the equilibrium and dynamic properties

Invariance of the Kohn (sloshing) mode in a conserving theory

It is proven that the center of mass (COM or Kohn) oscillation of a many-body system in a harmonic trap coincides with the motion of a single particle as long as conserving approximations are applied to treat the interactions. The two conditions formulated by Kadanoff and Baym \cite{kb-book} are shown to be sufficient to preserve the COM mode. The result equally applies to zero and finite temperature, as well as to nonequilibrium situations, and to the linear and nonlinear response regimes

Electronic correlations in double ionization of atoms in pump-probe experiments

The ionization dynamics of a two-electron atom in an attosecond XUV-infrared pump-probe experiment is simulated by solving the time-dependent two-electron Schr\"odinger equation. A dramatic change of the double ionization (DI) yield with variation of the pump-probe delay is reported and the governing role of electron-electron correlations is shown. The results allow for a direct control of the DI yield and of the relative strength of double and single ionization

On the Coulomb-dipole transition in mesoscopic classical and quantum electron-hole bilayers

We study the Coulomb-to-dipole transition which occurs when the separation $d$ of an electron-hole bilayer system is varied with respect to the characteristic in-layer distances. An analysis of the classical ground state configurations for harmonically confined clusters with $N\leq30$ reveals that the energetically most favorable state can differ from that of two-dimensional pure dipole or Coulomb systems. Performing a normal mode analysis for the N=19 cluster it is found that the lowest mode frequencies exhibit drastic changes when $d$ is varied. Furthermore, we present quantum-mechanical ground states for N=6, 10 and 12 spin-polarized electrons and holes. We compute the single-particle energies and orbitals in self-consistent Hartree-Fock approximation over a broad range of layer separations and coupling strengths between the limits of the ideal Fermi gas and the Wigner crystal

Short time dynamics with initial correlations

The short-time dynamics of correlated systems is strongly influenced by initial correlations giving rise to an additional collision integral in the non-Markovian kinetic equation. Exact cancellation of the two integrals is found if the initial state is thermal equilibrium which is an important consistency criterion. Analytical results are given for the time evolution of the correlation energy which are confirmed by comparisons with molecular dynamics simulations (MD)