Observation of Forbidden Exciton Transitions Mediated by Coulomb Interactions in Photoexcited Semiconductor Quantum Wells

W. D. Rice, J. Kono, S. Zybell, S. Winnerl, J. Bhattacharyya, H. Schneider, M. Helm, B. Ewers, A. Chernikov, M. Koch, S. Chatterjee, G. Khitrova, H. M. Gibbs, L. Schneebeli, B. Breddermann, M. Kira, and S. W. Koch
Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 137404 – Published 26 March 2013
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Abstract

We use terahertz pulses to induce resonant transitions between the eigenstates of optically generated exciton populations in a high-quality semiconductor quantum well sample. Monitoring the excitonic photoluminescence, we observe transient quenching of the 1s exciton emission, which we attribute to the terahertz-induced 1s-to-2p excitation. Simultaneously, a pronounced enhancement of the 2s exciton emission is observed, despite the 1s-to-2s transition being dipole forbidden. A microscopic many-body theory explains the experimental observations as a Coulomb-scattering mixing of the 2s and 2p states, yielding an effective terahertz transition between the 1s and 2s populations.

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  • Received 18 March 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.137404

© 2013 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

W. D. Rice1,2, J. Kono1,2,*, S. Zybell3,4, S. Winnerl3, J. Bhattacharyya3, H. Schneider3, M. Helm3,4, B. Ewers5, A. Chernikov5, M. Koch5, S. Chatterjee5, G. Khitrova6, H. M. Gibbs6,†, L. Schneebeli5, B. Breddermann5, M. Kira5, and S. W. Koch5

  • 1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
  • 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
  • 3Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, P. O. Box 510119, D-01314 Dresden, Germany
  • 4Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
  • 5Department of Physics, Philipps-University Marburg, Renthof 5, D-35032 Marburg, Germany
  • 6College of Optical Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0094, USA

  • *Corresponding author. kono@rice.edu
  • Deceased.

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Vol. 110, Iss. 13 — 29 March 2013

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