General principles for the non-equilibrium relaxation of populations in quantum materials

TL;DR

This paper explores the complex relaxation processes of excited electrons in quantum materials, highlighting the limitations of common assumptions and demonstrating how many-body theory can improve interpretation of pump/probe experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive analysis of non-equilibrium electron relaxation incorporating impurity, Coulomb, and electron-phonon scattering, challenging existing assumptions and applying advanced many-body theory methods.

Findings

Relaxation processes are more complex than previously assumed.

Common assumptions in non-equilibrium relaxation may not always hold.

Many-body theory provides a better framework for interpreting experimental data.

Abstract

We examine the problem of how excited populations of electrons relax after they have been excited by a pump. We include three of the most important relaxation processes: (i) impurity scattering; (ii) Coulomb scattering; and (iii) electron-phonon scattering. The relaxation of an excited population of electrons is one of the most fundamental processes measured in pump/probe experiments, but its interpretation remains under debate. We show how several common assumptions about non-equilibrium relaxation that are pervasive in the field may not hold under quite general conditions. The analysis shows that non-equilibrium relaxation is more complex than previously thought, but it yields to recently developed theoretical methods in non-equilibrium theory. In this work, we show how one can use many-body theory to properly interpret and analyze these complex systems. We focus much of the discussion on implications of these results for experiment.