# Phonon-induced quantum ratchet in the exciton spin dynamics in diluted magnetic semiconductors in a magnetic field

## TL;DR

This paper reveals that in diluted magnetic semiconductors, the interplay of giant Zeeman splitting and phonons induces a quantum ratchet effect, causing near-complete spin polarization reversal at low temperatures, with simplified models capturing the qualitative behavior.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel quantum ratchet mechanism in exciton spin dynamics driven by phonons and Zeeman splitting, supported by both quantum kinetic and rate-equation models.

## Key findings

- Quantum ratchet effect causes spin reversal at low temperatures.
- Qualitative agreement between rate equations and quantum kinetic models.
- Giant Zeeman splitting significantly influences spin dynamics.

## Abstract

Magnetically doped semiconductors are well known for their giant Zeeman splittings which can reach several meV even in relatively small external magnetic fields. After preparing a nonequilibrium exciton distribution via optical excitation, the spin dynamics in diluted magnetic semiconductor quantum wells is typically governed by spin-flip scattering processes due to the exciton-impurity exchange interaction. Our theoretical calculations show that the giant Zeeman splitting in these materials in combination with the influence of longitudinal acoustic phonons lead to a quantum ratchet-type dynamics, resulting in an almost complete reversal of the carrier spin polarization at very low temperatures. Furthermore, we find that the predictions of a much simpler rate-equation approach qualitatively agree with a more advanced and numerically demanding quantum kinetic description of the spin dynamics for a wide range of temperatures, although quantitative difference are noticeable.