Quantum limit for nuclear spin polarization in semiconductor quantum dots

Abstract

A recent experiment [E. A. Chekhovich et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 066804 (2010)] has demonstrated that high nuclear spin polarization can be achieved in self-assembled quantum dots by exploiting an optically forbidden transition between a heavy hole and a trion state. However, a fully polarized state is not achieved as expected from a classical rate equation. Here, we theoretically investigate this problem with the help of a quantum master equation and we demonstrate that a fully polarized state cannot be achieved due to formation of a nuclear dark state. Moreover, we show that the maximal degree of polarization depends on structural properties of the quantum dot.

11 pages, 7 figures

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Cited by in corpus (5)

• Measurement of the spin temperature of optically cooled nuclei and GaAs hyperfine constants in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots
• Determining the validity of cumulant expansions for central spin models
• Reconstruction of nuclear quadrupole interaction in (In,Ga)As/GaAs quantum dots observed by transmission electron microscopy
• Interplay of spin-orbit and hyperfine interactions in dynamical nuclear polarization in semiconductor quantum dots
• Entangling nuclear spins in distant quantum dots via an electron bus