Simulation of quantum wells with ‘spikes’ and ‘dips’

The use of thin high-bandgap ‘spikes’ or thin low-bandgap ‘dips’ inside conventional rectangular quantum wells (QWs) gives supplementary flexibility in engineering intra- and inter-band energy level separation. The paper presents simulation and experimental studies on the effects of ‘spikes’ and ‘dips’ on the fundamental quantum well properties.     

Energy levels and states of parabolic cylindrical lens shaped quantum dots

The parabolic cylindrical lens shaped quantum dot is investigated theoretically. The Schrǒdinger equation for an electron confined in this structure is solved in the parabolic cylindrical coordinate system. The wavefunctions for the electron are presented in terms of confluent hypergeometric functions, and the electron energy spectra are also obtained.     

Growth and characterization of InAs quantum dots with low-density and long emission wavelength

The growth parameters affecting the deposition of self-assembled InAs quantum dots(QDs)on GaAs sub- strate by low-pressure metal-organic chemical vapor deposition(MOCVD)are reported,The low-density InAs QDs(～5×10~8 cm~(-2))are achieved using high growth temperature and low InAs coverage.Photolu- minescence(PL)measurements show the good optical quality of low-density QDs.At room temperature, the ground state peak wavelength of PL spectrum and full-width at half-maximum(FWHM)are 1361 nm and 23 meV(35 nm).respectively,which are obtained as the GaAs capping layer grown using triethylgal- lium(TEG)and tertiallybutylarsine(TBA).The PL spectra exhibit three emission peaks at 1361,1280, and 1204 nm,which correspond to the ground state,the first excited state,and the second excited state of the QDs,respectively.     

‘Measurement of quantum mechanical operators’ revisited

The Wigner-Araki-Yanase (WAY) theorem states a remarkable limitation to quantum mechanical measurements in the presence of additive conserved quantities. Discovered by Wigner in 1952, this limitation is known to induce constraints on the control of individual quantum systems in the context of information processing. It is therefore important to understand the precise conditions and scope of the WAY theorem. Here we elucidate its crucial assumptions, briefly review some generalizations, and show how a particular extension can be obtained by a simple modification of the original proofs. We also describe the evolution of the WAY theorem from a strict no-go verdict for certain, highly idealized, precise measurements into a quantitative constraint on the accuracy and approximate repeatability of imprecise measurements.     

Effect of electron interaction on statistics of conductance oscillations in open quantum dots: does the dephasing time saturate?

We perform self-consistent quantum transport calculations in open quantum dots taking into account the effect of electron interaction. We demonstrate that, in the regime of the ultralow temperatures 2 pi kappa BT < or = delta (delta being the mean-level spacing), the electron interaction strongly smears the conductance oscillations and thus significantly affects their statistics. Our calculations are in good quantitative agreement with the observed ultralow temperature statistics of Huibers et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 1917 (1998)]. Our findings question a conventional interpretation of the ultralow temperature saturation of the coherence time in open dots which is based on the noninteracting theories, where the agreement with the experiment is achieved by introducing additional phenomenological channels of dephasing.     

Influences of spin–orbit interaction on quantum speed limit and entanglement of spin qubits in coupled quantum dots

Quantum speed limit and entanglement of a two-spin Heisenberg XYZ system in an inhomogeneous external magnetic field are investigated. The physical system studied is the excess electron spin in two adjacent quantum dots. The influences of magnetic field inhomogeneity as well as spin–orbit coupling are studied. Moreover, the spin interaction with surrounding magnetic environment is investigated as a non-Markovian process. The spin–orbit interaction provides two important features: the formation of entanglement when two qubits are initially in a separated state and the degradation and rebirth of the entanglement.     

Theoretical study of quantum confined Stark shift in InAs／GaAs quantum dots

The quantum confined Stark effect (QCSE) of the self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots has been investigated theoretically. The ground-state transition energies for quantum dots in the shape of a cube, pyramid or “truncated pyramid” are calculated and analysed. We use a method based on the Green function technique for calculating thestrain in quantum dots and an efficient plane-wave envelope-function technique to determine the ground-state electronic structure of them with different shapes. The symmetry of quantum dots is broken by the effect of strain. So the properties of carriers show different behaviours from the traditional quantum device. Based on these results, we also calculate permanent built-in dipole moments and compare them with recent experimental data. Our results demonstrate that the measured Stark effect in self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dot structures can be explained by including linear grading.     

Instability domain of Bose–Einstein condensates with quantum fluctuations and three-body interactions

Through a Gross–Pitaevskii equation comprising cubic, quartic, residual, and quintic nonlinearities, we examine the modulational instability (MI) of Bose–Einstein condensates at higher densities in the presence of quantum fluctuations. We obtain an explicit time-dependent criteria for the MI and the instability domains of the condensates. Solitons are generated by suitably exciting the MI, and their stability is analyzed. We find that quantum fluctuations can completely change the instability of condensates by reversing the nature of the effective two-body interactions. The interplay between three-body interactions and quantum fluctuations is shown. Numerical simulations performed agree with analytical predictions.     

Properties of ground state and anomalous quantum fluctuations in one-dimensional polaron-soliton systems—the effects of electron-two-phonon interaction and non-adiabatic quantum correlations

Based on the Holstein model Hamiltonian of one-dimensional molecular crystals, by making use of the expansion approach of the correlated squeezed-coherent states of phonon instead of the two-phonon coherent state expansion scheme, the properties of the ground state and the anomalous quantum fluctuations are investigated in a strongly coupled electron-phonon system with special consideration of the electron-two-phonon interaction. The effective renormalization (αi) of the displacement of the squeezed phonons with the effect of the squeezed-coherent states of phonon and both the electron-displaced phonon and the polaron-squeezed phonon correlations have been combined to obtain the anomalous quantum fluctuations for the corrections of the coherent state. Due to these non-adiabatic correlations, the effective displacement parameter αi is larger than the ordinary parameter α (0) i . In comparison with the electron-one-phonon interaction (g) corrected as αig, we have found the electron-two-phonon interaction (g1) corrected as αi2 g1 is enhanced significantly. For this reason, the ground state energy (E(2) 0 ) contributed by the electron-two-phonon interaction is more negative than the single-phonon case (E(1) 0 ) and the soliton solution is more stable. At the same time, the effects of the electron-two-phonon interaction greatly increase the polaron energy and the quantum fluctuations. Furthermore, in a deeper level, we have considered the effect of the polaron-squeezed phonon correlation (f-correlation). Since this correlation parameter f > 1, this effect will strengthen the electron-one and two-phonon interactions by fαig and f2αi2 g1, respectively. The final results show that the ground state energy and the polaron energy will appear more negative further and the quantum fluctuations will gain further improvement.     

On the possibility of implementation of Kohn’s theorem in the case of ellipsoidal quantum dots

An electron gas in a strongly oblated ellipsoidal quantum dot with impenetrable walls is considered. Influence of the walls of the quantum dot is assumed to be so strong in the direction of the minor axis (the OZ axis) that the Coulomb interaction between electrons in this direction can be neglected and considered as two-dimensional, coupled. On the basis of geometric adiabaticity we show that in the case of a few-particle gas a powerful repulsive potential of the quantum dot walls has a parabolic form and localizes the dot in the geometric center of the structure. Due to this fact, conditions occur to implement the generalized Kohn theorem for this system.     

Magnetic depopulation of subbands and universal conductance fluctuations in quasi-one dimensional GaAsAlGaAs heterostructures

Narrow conducting channels have been fabricated in the two dimensional electron gas in a GaAsAlGaAs heterostructure, using a recently developed shallow mesa etch technique. Four terminal high field magnetoresistance measurements at temperatures down to 2 K have been performed on samples with etched width between 8 μm and 0.5 μm. The Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations are studied, and clear evidence is presented for magnetic depopulation of 1-dimensional subbands. The data for the 0.5 μm wide channel are in satisfactory agreement with a simple analysis based on a parabolic confinement potential. Large sidewall depletion effects are found, in agreement with our recent analysis of the weak field negative magnetoresistance. We also observe irregular structure in the magnetoresistance. The dependence of the effects on the orientation of the magnetic field shows that the magnetoresistance arises from the orbital motion of the 2-dimensional electrons. The magnitude and typical field scales of the aperiodic structure are in agreement with predictions based on the theory of universal conductance fluctuations.     

Synthesis and characterization of aqueous MPA-capped CdS–ZnS core–shell quantum dots

The novel CdS–ZnS core–shell nanoparticles are synthesized using simple one-step aqueous chemical approach. 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) was used as the capping molecule. The structural and optical properties of the prepared samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) and transition electron microscopy (TEM). The studies show that pH contributed noticeably to the growth and optical properties of nanoparticles. The TEM results indicate that the prepared particles have core–shell structure.     

Temperature dependence of violation of Bell’s inequality in coupled quantum dots in a microcavity

Bell’s inequality in two coupled quantum dots within cavity QED, including Förster and exciton–phonon interactions, is investigated theoretically. It is shown that the environmental temperature has a significant impact on Bell’s inequality.     

Optically induced phase transition of excitons in coupled quantum dots

The weak classical light excitations in many semiconductor quantum dots have been chosen as important solid- state quantum systems for processing quantum information and implementing quantum computing. For strong classical light we predict theoretically a novel phase transition as a function of magnitude of this classical light from the deformed to the normal phases in resonance ease, and the essential features of criticality such as the scaling behaviour, critical exponent and universality are also present in this paper.     

Tunable ultra-fast carrier–light field dynamics of quantum dots

A theory of ultra-fast carrier–light field dynamics of quantum dots is presented. The carrier–light field dynamics is described by Maxwell–Bloch equations. A calculation of the dipole matrix elements requires the determination of the electronic wave functions taking into account their dependence on the degeneracy of the carrier states. The ultra-fast carrier–light field dynamics depends strongly on the external applied electric field. PACS 42.55.Px; 42.60.Rn; 74.78.Fk     

On the relation of Manin’s quantum plane and quantum Clifford algebras

In a recent work we have shown that quantum Clifford algebras — i.e. Clifford algebras of an arbitrary bilinear form — are closely related to the deformed structures asq-spin groups, Hecke algebras,q-Young operators and deformed tensor products. The question to relate Manin’s approach to quantum Clifford algebras is addressed here. Explicit computations using the CLIFFORD Maple package are exhibited. The meaning of non-commutative geometry is reexamined and interpreted in Clifford algebraic terms. Presented at the 9th Colloquium “Quantum Groups and Integrable Systems”, Prague, 22–24 June 2000.     

Nonradiative and radiative Förster energy transfer between quantum dots

We theoretically study nonradiative and radiative energy transfer between two localized quantum emitters, a donor (initially excited) and an acceptor (receiving the excitation). The rates of nonradiative and radiative processes are calculated depending on the spatial and spectral separation between the donor and acceptor states and for different donor and acceptor lifetimes for typical parameters of semiconductor quantum dots. We find that the donor lifetime can be significantly modified only due to the nonradiative Förster energy transfer process at donor–acceptor separations of approximately 10 nm (depending on the acceptor radiative lifetime) and for the energy detuning not larger than 1–2 meV. The efficiency of the nonradiative Förster energy transfer process under these conditions is close to unity and decreases rapidly with an increase in the donor–acceptor distance or energy detuning. At large donor–acceptor separations greater than 40 nm, the radiative corrections to the donor lifetime are comparable with nonradiative ones but are relatively weak.     

Direct spin–phonon coupling of spin-flip relaxation in quantum dots

Within the frame of the Pavlov–Firsov spin–phonon coupling model, we study the spin-flip assisted by the acoustical phonon scattering between the first-excited state and the ground state in quantum dots. We analyze the behaviors of the spin relaxation rates as a function of an external magnetic field and lateral radius of quantum dot. The different trends of the relaxation rates depending on the magnetic field and lateral radius are obtained, which may serve as a channel to distinguish the relaxation processes and thus control the spin state effectively.