72 research outputs found
Electron spin orientation under in-plane optical excitation in GaAs quantum wells
We study the optical orientation of electron spins in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum
wells for excitation in the growth direction and for in-plane excitation. Time-
and polarization-resolved photoluminescence excitation measurements show, for
resonant excitation of the heavy-hole conduction band transition, a negligible
degree of electron spin polarization for in-plane excitation and nearly 100%
for excitation in the growth direction. For resonant excitation of the
light-hole conduction band transition, the excited electron spin polarization
has the same (opposite) direction for in-plane excitation (in the growth
direction) as for excitation into the continuum. The experimental results are
well explained by an accurate multiband theory of excitonic absorption taking
fully into account electron-hole Coulomb correlations and heavy-hole light-hole
coupling.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, final versio
Controlling the spin orientation of photoexcited electrons by symmetry breaking
We study reflection of optically spin-oriented hot electrons as a means to
probe the semiconductor crystal symmetry and its intimate relation with the
spin-orbit coupling. The symmetry breaking by reflection manifests itself by
tipping the net-spin vector of the photoexcited electrons out of the light
propagation direction. The tipping angle and the pointing direction of the
net-spin vector are set by the crystal-induced spin precession, momentum
alignment and spin-momentum correlation of the initial photoexcited electron
population. We examine non-magnetic semiconductor heterostructures and
semiconductor/ferromagnet systems and show the unique signatures of these
effects.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, resubmitte
Spin Orientation of Holes in Quantum Wells
This paper reviews the spin orientation of spin-3/2 holes in quantum wells.
We discuss the Zeeman and Rashba spin splitting in hole systems that are
qualitatively different from their counterparts in electron systems. We show
how a systematic understanding of the unusual spin-dependent phenomena in hole
systems can be gained using a multipole expansion of the spin density matrix.
As an example we discuss spin precession in hole systems that can give rise to
an alternating spin polarization. Finally, we discuss the qualitatively
different regimes of hole spin polarization decay in clean and dirty samples.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure
Optical manipulation of collective spin correlations in semiconductors with a squeezed vacuum of polarized photons
Spin relaxation in low-dimensional systems
We review some of the newest findings on the spin dynamics of carriers and
excitons in GaAs/GaAlAs quantum wells. In intrinsic wells, where the optical
properties are dominated by excitonic effects, we show that exciton-exciton
interaction produces a breaking of the spin degeneracy in two-dimensional
semiconductors. In doped wells, the two spin components of an optically created
two-dimensional electron gas are well described by Fermi-Dirac distributions
with a common temperature but different chemical potentials. The rate of the
spin depolarization of the electron gas is found to be independent of the mean
electron kinetic energy but accelerated by thermal spreading of the carriers.Comment: 1 PDF file, 13 eps figures, Proceedings of the 1998 International
Workshop on Nanophysics and Electronics (NPE-98)- Lecce (Italy
Cloud feedback in atmospheric general circulation models: An update
Six years ago, we compared the climate sensitivity of 19 atmospheric general circulation models and found a roughly threefold variation among the models; most of this variation was attributed to differences in the models' depictions of cloud feedback. In an update of this comparison, current models showed considerably smaller differences in net cloud feedback, with most producing modest values. There are, however, substantial differences in the feedback components, indicating that the models still have physical disagreements
Theory of acceptor-ground-state description and hot photoluminescence in cubic semiconductors
Effective masses and g factors of electrons in excited states at the Γ point in III–V semiconductors
Hydrodynamic Instability of the Periodic System of Updrafts and Downdrafts in the Atmosphere
- …