Magnetoexcitons in cuprous oxide

TL;DR

This paper develops a detailed theoretical model of magnetoexcitons in cuprous oxide, accounting for complex valence band structure and symmetry effects, and validates it with high-resolution experimental spectra to accurately determine exciton energies and parameters.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive theory of magnetoexcitons in Cu2O considering valence band complexity and symmetry, validated by experimental spectra, and determines the Luttinger parameter.

Findings

Theoretical spectra match experimental data in energies and oscillator strengths.

Dependence of spectra on magnetic field direction is explained.

The Luttinger parameter κ is accurately determined.

Abstract

Two of the most striking experimental findings when investigating exciton spectra in cuprous oxide using high-resolution spectroscopy are the observability and the fine structure splitting of $F$ excitons reported by J. Thewes et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 027402 (2015)]. These findings show that it is indispensable to account for the complex valence band structure and the cubic symmetry of the solid in the theory of excitons. This is all the more important for magnetoexcitons, where the external magnetic field reduces the symmetry of the system even further. We present the theory of excitons in $\mathrm{Cu_{2}O}$ in an external magnetic field and especially discuss the dependence of the spectra on the direction of the external magnetic field, which cannot be understood from a simple hydrogen-like model. Using high-resolution spectroscopy, we also present the corresponding experimental spectra for cuprous oxide in Faraday configuration. The theoretical results and experimental spectra are in excellent agreement as regards not only the energies but also the relative oscillator strengths. Furthermore, this comparison allows for the determination of the fourth Luttinger parameter $\kappa$ of this semiconductor.