Probing the shape of quantum dots with magnetic fields

A tool for the identification of the shape of quantum dots is developed. By preparing a two-electron quantum dot, the response of the low-lying excited states to a homogeneous magnetic field, i.e., their spin and parity oscillations, is studied for a large variety of dot shapes. For any geometric configuration of the confinement we encounter characteristic spin singlet-triplet crossovers. The magnetization is shown to be a complementary tool for probing the shape of the dot.