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Updated: Jun 20, 2025

High Resolution Phonon-assisted Quasi-resonance Fluorescence Spectroscopy
Published on: June 28, 2016
Phonon-Mediated Exciton Relaxation in Two-Dimensional Semiconductors: Selection Rules and Relaxation Pathways
Xiao-Wei Zhang1, Kaichen Xie2, En-Ge Wang1,3
1International Center for Quantum Materials and School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Exciton-phonon coupling (ExPC) is crucial for energy relaxation in semiconductors, yet the first-principles calculation of such coupling remains challenging, especially for two-dimensional (2D) systems. Here, an accurate method for calculating ExPC is developed and applied in exciton relaxation problems in monolayer WSe2. Considering the interplay between the exciton wave functions and electron-phonon coupling (EPC) matrix elements, we find that ExPC shows selection rules distinct from the ones of EPC. By employing the Wannier exciton model, we generalize these selection rules, which state that the angular quantum numbers of the exciton must match the winding numbers of the EPC matrix elements for the ExPC to be allowed. To verify our theory and method, we calculate intervalley exciton relaxation pathways, which agree well with a recent experiment.
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