Ellipticity-Controlled Bright-Dark Coherence Transition in Monolayer WSe2

TL;DR

This paper introduces a quantum framework showing how ellipticity of light controls bright and dark exciton coherence in monolayer WSe2, enabling new quantum control pathways for valley coherence manipulation.

Contribution

It develops a microscopic open-quantum-system model demonstrating ellipticity-driven control of bright-dark exciton coherence in monolayer WSe2.

Findings

Ellipticity of excitation field controls valley coherence states.

Continuous tuning enables transitions between bright and dark coherence.

Magnetic fields enhance dark coherence manipulation.

Abstract

The generation of exciton valley coherence typically requires linearly polarized (LP) light as an external coherent drive, whereas circularly polarized (CP) light fails to induce coherence. Here, we develop a unified, microscopically-grounded open-quantum-system framework within a five-level model incorporating bright-dark exciton interactions in monolayer WSe2, and demonstrate that the polarization ellipticity of the excitation field provides selective control over distinct exciton species contributing to valley coherence. Specifically, LP and CP excitations generate bright and dark coherence, respectively, with continuous ellipticity tuning enabling controlled transitions between these states. We further reveal dual magnetic advantages for manipulating dark coherence even in the absence of initial coherence: (i) an out-of-plane magnetic field suppresses coherence decay and (ii) an in-plane field enables its optical readout, with quantitatively realistic field strengths. These findings provide a powerful mechanism for accessing hidden dark states via ellipticity-driven coherence transfer, and establish a new pathway for harnessing bright-dark valley-coherence transitions in future quantum control.