Eckardt frame theory of interacting electrons in quantum dots

A transformation to a moving frame (the Eckardt frame) is used to study the quantum states of interacting electrons in parabolic quantum dots in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field. The approach is motivated by examining ground-state pair-correlation functions obtained by exact diagonalization. The main results concern the physical nature of the electron states and the origin of magic numbers. Some of the states are found to be localized about a single minimum of the potential energy. They have well-defined symmetry and are physically analogous to molecules. They are treated approximately by antisymmetrizing Eckardt frame rotational-vibrational states. This approach leads to selection rules that predict all the magic angular momentum and spin combinations found in previous numerical work. In addition, it enables the ground-state energy and low-lying excitations of the molecular states to be calculated to high accuracy. Analytic results for three electrons agree very well with the results of exact diagonalization. States that are not localized about a single minimum are also studied. They do not have distinct spatial symmetry and occur only when selection rules and conservation laws allow tunneling between states localized on different minima. These states appear to be small system precursors of fractional quantum Hall liquids. © 1996 The American Physical Society.