Wannier-Mott exciton ($a_B^{\ast },R^{\ast }$)

A Wannier-Mott exciton has an internal wave function extending over many unit cells. Its simplest model assumes a three-dimensional bulk crystal, approximately parabolic valence band and conduction band, positive isotropic scalar effective masses $m_e^{\ast },m_h^{\ast }$, a constant scalar relative permittivity ${ϵ}_r$, and a dilute pair population. Replace microscopic crystal forces by those effective masses and dielectric screening, and neglect exchange corrections and coupling to phonons. These assumptions must hold on the spatial and energy scales of the particular exciton.

With relative coordinate $\mathbf{r}={\mathbf{r}}_e-{\mathbf{r}}_h$, the internal Hamiltonian operator is the three-dimensional hydrogen atom problem with a reduced mass and a screened Coulomb potential:Here $e$ is the elementary charge, ${ϵ}_0$ the vacuum permittivity, and $\hslash$ the reduced Planck constant. The internal energy eigenvalues, radius scale, and exciton binding energies areThe principal quantum number is $n=1,2,\dots$. This reduction and these scales are derived in Excitons in Semiconductor Quantum Dots by Matjaž Humar (§3, printed pp. 5–6, equations (13)–(26)).

To check the scales by dimensional analysis, write $C=e^2/(4\pi {ϵ}_0{ϵ}_r)$, which has units of energy times length. Then $a_B^{\ast }={\hslash }^2/(\mu C)$ is a length and $R^{\ast }=\mu C^2/(2{\hslash }^2)$ is an energy. Rescaling $r=a_B^{\ast }\rho$ makes $H_{\mathrm{rel}}/R^{\ast }=-{\nabla }_{\rho }^2-2/\rho$, the dimensionless hydrogen atom operator. The Bohr radius $a_B^{\ast }$ is a wave function scale, not the radius of a classical orbit; for this model's lowest internal bound state, the mean separation is $3a_B^{\ast }/2$.

For the diagrams' hypothetical inputs $m_e^{\ast }=0.10m_0$, $m_h^{\ast }=0.40m_0$, ${ϵ}_r=10$ and $E_g=1.500\mathrm{eV}$, where $m_0$ is the free electron mass, independent substitution gives $\mu =0.080m_0$, $a_B^{\ast }\simeq 6.615\mathrm{nm}$ and $R^{\ast }\simeq 10.885\mathrm{meV}$. Here electronvolts express energy. The exciton binding energies for $n=1,2,3$ are approximately $10.885$, $2.721$ and $1.209\mathrm{meV}$. These are model calculations, not measured material parameters. The large-radius approximation additionally requires $a_B^{\ast }$ to be much larger than the crystal's unit cell length scale. In a thin layer, with anisotropic effective masses, or with spatially varying dielectric screening, this three-dimensional formula is not generally valid.

In the envelope approximation, a quantum well confines electron and hole motion perpendicular to the plane. Averaging their screened attraction over the confinement envelopes gives the displayed effective in-plane potential. Its narrow-well limit approaches the ideal two-dimensional exciton; finite width softens the short-distance attraction. Dielectric mismatch, nonparabolic bands and strong electron–hole confinement mixing require more than this single-subband model.

In the ideal screened-Coulomb model confined to a plane, the relative-motion energies are $-R^{\ast }/(\nu -1/2{)}^2$ for $\nu =1,2,\dots$, where $R^{\ast }=(\mu /m_e)13.6\mathrm{eV}/{\epsilon }_r^2$. The ground-state binding is $4R^{\ast }$ rather than the three-dimensional value $R^{\ast }$. Finite-width wells need not be exactly planar.

The first two optically active hydrogenic levels have separation $32R^{\ast }/9$ in the planar model, versus $3R^{\ast }/4$ in the bulk model. The separation cancels an uncertain common continuum threshold, making it useful when rounded band parameters do not reproduce every absolute peak energy.

The characteristic relative-motion length of a hydrogenic Wannier-Mott exciton, with dielectric screening and exciton reduced mass ${\mu }^{\ast }$. Comparing a quantum dot's dimensions with this scale helps distinguish strong carrier confinement from confinement of a comparatively intact bound pair.

The hydrogenic sequence of bound relative electron–hole energies $E_n=E_g-R^{\ast }/n^2$ below the free-pair threshold, where $R^{\ast }=({\mu }^{\ast }/m_e)R_{\mathrm{H}}/{\epsilon }_r^2$. The effective-mass, screened-Coulomb approximation and optical selection rules limit the model.

The dimensionless ratio of a medium's permittivity to vacuum permittivity. The constant scalar value used in a Wannier-Mott exciton is an approximation to the relevant material response.

The generally complex, frequency- and wavevector-dependent relative permittivity describing linear polarization response. Its imaginary part represents dissipative response with the sign fixed by the time convention; optical prefactors connect it to an absorption coefficient.

The static independent-electron density response of a uniform three-dimensional, two-spin Fermi gas, combined with self-consistent Poisson equation screening, gives the displayed dielectric function. For bare electron mass and vacuum background, ${\kappa }^2=m_e{e}^2{k}_F/({ϵ}_0{\pi }^2{\hslash }^2)$ andHere $F(0)=1$, $F(1)=1/2$ by continuous extension, and $F(x)\sim 1/(3x^2)$ at large $x$. A host dielectric background and band effective mass require replacing the vacuum parameters appropriately. This nonlocal response contains Friedel oscillations, which its long-wavelength Thomas-Fermi screening limit misses.

The three-dimensional static screening function is finite at $q=2k_F$, but its derivative diverges logarithmically. Expanding the explicit static Lindhard dielectric function gives the title's nonanalytic term. The singularity comes from particle–hole excitations connecting opposite parts of the Fermi surface. It produces a Friedel density tail from a derivative singularity; analogous electronic response can cause a Kohn anomaly in a coupled lattice vibration.

Modification of the interaction between electric charges by a medium's electrical response. In the simplest Wannier-Mott exciton model, the Coulomb potential is reduced by a constant relative permittivity; actual screening can depend on spatial and temporal scales.

For a point source $Ze$ and the Fourier transform convention $\rho (\mathbf{q})=\int e^{-i\mathbf{q}\cdot \mathbf{r}}\rho (\mathbf{r})d^{3}r$, self-consistent screening gives ${\rho }_{\mathrm{ind}}(q)=Ze[ϵ(q{)}^{-1}-1]$. Angular inversion yields ${\rho }_{\mathrm{ind}}(r)=-(Ze/r){\int }_0^{\infty }g(q)\sin (qr)dq$. The factor $1/(2{\pi }^2)$ includes the inverse-transform normalization and spherical angular integral. Perfect long-wavelength screening implies total induced charge $-Ze$.

The sharp Fermi surface gives a nonlocal oscillatory electronic response around an impurity. In a three-dimensional isotropic metal its far-field oscillations have characteristic wavevector $2k_F$ and algebraically decaying amplitude. They are absent from the purely exponential Thomas-Fermi screening potential. The local screening formula is a useful long-wavelength model, not an exact asymptotic expression at every distance.

A single isotropic three-dimensional valley with two equal spin populations has $n=k_F^3/(3{\pi }^2)$. A density oscillation at wavevector $2k_F$ therefore has the wavelength in the title. This depends on carrier density, independently of effective mass and dielectric screening strength. Extra valley degeneracy, spin polarization or reduced dimensionality changes the state-counting relation.

For the radial induced-charge screening kernel, integrate the sine transform twice by parts, with $g(0)=g(\infty )=0$ and vanishing remaining endpoint terms. This gives ${\rho }_{\mathrm{ind}}=Ze\int g^{\prime \prime }(q)\sin (qr)dq/r^3$. A Cauchy principal value singularity at $Q>0$ contributes $C\pi \cos (Qr)$ to that integral: set $s=q-Q$ and use ${\int }_{-\infty }^{\infty }\sin (sr)ds/s=\pi$ for $r>0$. Smoothly localizing around $Q$ justifies the large-$r$ extension of the limits. In a three-dimensional isotropic Fermi gas, $Q=2k_F$.

In the long-wavelength static response of a degenerate conductor, a small electric potential $\varphi$ changes the electron density by $\delta n=eg(E_F)\varphi$, where $g(E_F)$ is the spin-summed density of states per volume per energy. The induced charge is therefore $-e^{2}g(E_F)\varphi$. With background permittivity ${\epsilon }_b$, Poisson equation becomesA point charge $Q$ then has $\varphi (r)=Q{e}^{-k_{\mathrm{TF}}r}/(4\pi {\epsilon }_{b}r)$. Larger electronic density of states gives stronger screening. This local response approximation does not capture the microscopic oscillatory tail of Friedel oscillations.^[ref]

The Thomas-Fermi screening length is the exponential decay scale of a statically screened potential in the local degenerate-electron approximation. For a three-dimensional parabolic free electron model, $g(E_F)=3n/(2E_F)$, so ${\lambda }_{\mathrm{TF}}^2=2{\epsilon }_b{E}_F/(3n{e}^2)$. At fixed mass and background permittivity it scales as $n^{-1/6}$, rather than the classical Debye density power at fixed temperature.