5,003 research outputs found
Local Optical Spectroscopy in Quantum Confined Systems: A Theoretical Description
A theoretical description of local absorption is proposed in order to
investigate spectral variations on a length scale comparable with the extension
of the relevant quantum states. A general formulation is derived within the
density-matrix formalism including Coulomb correlation, and applied to the
prototypical case of coupled quantum wires. The results show that excitonic
effects may have a crucial impact on the local absorption with implications for
the spatial resolution and the interpretation of near-field optical spectra.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. - 11 pages, 3 PostScript figures (1
figure in colors) embedded. Uses RevTex, and psfig style
Coherent phenomena in semiconductors
A review of coherent phenomena in photoexcited semiconductors is presented.
In particular, two classes of phenomena are considered: On the one hand the
role played by optically-induced phase coherence in the ultrafast spectroscopy
of semiconductors; On the other hand the Coulomb-induced effects on the
coherent optical response of low-dimensional structures.
All the phenomena discussed in the paper are analyzed in terms of a
theoretical framework based on the density-matrix formalism. Due to its
generality, this quantum-kinetic approach allows a realistic description of
coherent as well as incoherent, i.e. phase-breaking, processes, thus providing
quantitative information on the coupled ---coherent vs. incoherent--- carrier
dynamics in photoexcited semiconductors.
The primary goal of the paper is to discuss the concept of quantum-mechanical
phase coherence as well as its relevance and implications on semiconductor
physics and technology. In particular, we will discuss the dominant role played
by optically induced phase coherence on the process of carrier photogeneration
and relaxation in bulk systems. We will then review typical field-induced
coherent phenomena in semiconductor superlattices such as Bloch oscillations
and Wannier-Stark localization. Finally, we will discuss the dominant role
played by Coulomb correlation on the linear and non-linear optical spectra of
realistic quantum-wire structures.Comment: Topical review in Semiconductor Science and Technology (in press)
(Some of the figures are not available in electronic form
Dissipation and Decoherence in Nanodevices: a Generalized Fermi's Golden Rule
We shall revisit the conventional adiabatic or Markov approximation, which
--contrary to the semiclassical case-- does not preserve the positive-definite
character of the corresponding density matrix, thus leading to highly
non-physical results. To overcome this serious limitation, originally pointed
out and partially solved by Davies and co-workers almost three decades ago, we
shall propose an alternative more general adiabatic procedure, which (i) is
physically justified under the same validity restrictions of the conventional
Markov approach, (ii) in the semiclassical limit reduces to the standard
Fermi's golden rule, and (iii) describes a genuine Lindblad evolution, thus
providing a reliable/robust treatment of energy-dissipation and dephasing
processes in electronic quantum devices. Unlike standard master-equation
formulations, the dependence of our approximation on the specific choice of the
subsystem (that include the common partial trace reduction) does not threaten
positivity, and quantum scattering rates are well defined even in case the
subsystem is infinitely extended/has continuous spectrum.Comment: 6 pages, 0 figure
Dissipation and Decoherence in Nanodevices: a Generalized Fermi's Golden Rule
We shall revisit the conventional adiabatic or Markov approximation, which
--contrary to the semiclassical case-- does not preserve the positive-definite
character of the corresponding density matrix, thus leading to highly
non-physical results. To overcome this serious limitation, originally pointed
out and partially solved by Davies and co-workers almost three decades ago, we
shall propose an alternative more general adiabatic procedure, which (i) is
physically justified under the same validity restrictions of the conventional
Markov approach, (ii) in the semiclassical limit reduces to the standard
Fermi's golden rule, and (iii) describes a genuine Lindblad evolution, thus
providing a reliable/robust treatment of energy-dissipation and dephasing
processes in electronic quantum devices. Unlike standard master-equation
formulations, the dependence of our approximation on the specific choice of the
subsystem (that include the common partial trace reduction) does not threaten
positivity, and quantum scattering rates are well defined even in case the
subsystem is infinitely extended/has continuous spectrum.Comment: 6 pages, 0 figure
Dissipation and Decoherence in Nanodevices: a Generalized Fermi's Golden Rule
We shall revisit the conventional adiabatic or Markov approximation, which
--contrary to the semiclassical case-- does not preserve the positive-definite
character of the corresponding density matrix, thus leading to highly
non-physical results. To overcome this serious limitation, originally pointed
out and partially solved by Davies and co-workers almost three decades ago, we
shall propose an alternative more general adiabatic procedure, which (i) is
physically justified under the same validity restrictions of the conventional
Markov approach, (ii) in the semiclassical limit reduces to the standard
Fermi's golden rule, and (iii) describes a genuine Lindblad evolution, thus
providing a reliable/robust treatment of energy-dissipation and dephasing
processes in electronic quantum devices. Unlike standard master-equation
formulations, the dependence of our approximation on the specific choice of the
subsystem (that include the common partial trace reduction) does not threaten
positivity, and quantum scattering rates are well defined even in case the
subsystem is infinitely extended/has continuous spectrum.Comment: 6 pages, 0 figure
Quantum-Information Processing with Semiconductor Macroatoms
An all optical implementation of quantum information processing with
semiconductor macroatoms is proposed. Our quantum hardware consists of an array
of semiconductor quantum dots and the computational degrees of freedom are
energy-selected interband optical transitions. The proposed quantum-computing
strategy exploits exciton-exciton interactions driven by ultrafast sequences of
multi-color laser pulses. Contrary to existing proposals based on charge
excitations, the present all-optical implementation does not require the
application of time-dependent electric fields, thus allowing for a
sub-picosecond, i.e. decoherence-free, operation time-scale in realistic
state-of-the-art semiconductor nanostructures.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. Lett., significant
changes in the text and new simulations (figure 3
Local optical spectroscopy of semiconductor nanostructures in the linear regime
We present a theoretical approach to calculate the local absorption spectrum of excitons confined in a semiconductor nanostructure. Using the density-matrix formalism, we derive a microscopic expression for the nonlocal susceptibility, both in the linear and nonlinear regimes, which includes a three-dimensional description of electronic quantum states and their Coulomb interaction. The knowledge of the nonlocal susceptibility allows us to calculate a properly defined local absorbed power, which depends on the electromagnetic field distribution. We report on explicit calculations of the local linear response of excitons confined in single and coupled T-shaped quantum wires with realistic geometry and composition. We show that significant interference effects in the interacting electron-hole wave function induce new features in the space-resolved optical spectra, particularly in coupled nanostructures. When the spatial extension of the electromagnetic field is comparable to the exciton Bohr radius, Coulomb effects on the local spectra must be taken into account for a correct assignment of the observed features
Completely Positive Markovian Quantum Dynamics in the Weak-Coupling Limit
We obtain new types of exponential decay laws for solutions of density-matrix
master equations in the weak-coupling limit: after comparing with results
already present in the literature and developing the necessary techniques, we
study the crucial aspect of complete positivity under fairly general
conditions. We propose a new type of time average that guarantees complete
positivity and approximates, in markovian fashion, the exact dynamics for a
plethora of physical applications, no matter which are the spectral properties
of the subsystem, or its dimensions. We shall comment on some interesting
examples, like a new Quantum version of the celebrated Fermi's Golden Rule and
some recently proposed entangling projections.Comment: 16 pages, 0 figure
Subdecoherent Information Encoding in a Quantum-Dot Array
A potential implementation of quantum-information schemes in semiconductor
nanostructures is studied. To this end, the formal theory of quantum encoding
for avoiding errors is recalled and the existence of noiseless states for model
systems is discussed. Based on this theoretical framework, we analyze the
possibility of designing noiseless quantum codes in realistic semiconductor
structures. In the specific implementation considered, information is encoded
in the lowest energy sector of charge excitations of a linear array of quantum
dots. The decoherence channel considered is electron-phonon coupling We show
that besides the well-known phonon bottleneck, reducing single-qubit
decoherence, suitable many-qubit initial preparation as well as register design
may enhance the decoherence time by several orders of magnitude. This behaviour
stems from the effective one-dimensional character of the phononic environment
in the relevant region of physical parameters.Comment: 12 pages LaTeX, 5 postscript figures. Final version accepted by PR
Noiseless encoding in a quantum-dot array
A potential implementation of quantum-computation schemes in semiconductor-based structures is proposed. In particular, an array of quantum dots is shown to be an ideal quantum register for a noiseless information encoding. In addition to the suppression of phase-breaking processes in quantum dots due to the well-known phonon bottleneck, we show that a proper quantum encoding allows one to realize a decoherence-free evolution on a time scale long compared to the femtosecond scale of modern ultrafast laser technology. This result might open the way to the realization of semiconductor-based quantum processors
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