Zitterbewegung of electrons and holes in III-V semiconductor quantum wells

TL;DR

This paper explores the theoretical occurrence of zitterbewegung, a relativistic quantum phenomenon, in III-V semiconductor quantum wells and wires with strong spin-orbit coupling, highlighting potential for experimental observation.

Contribution

It extends previous theoretical work by analyzing zitterbewegung in electrons and holes within III-V zinc-blende semiconductors, emphasizing nanostructures suitable for experiments.

Findings

Zitterbewegung predicted in electrons and holes with strong spin-orbit coupling

Quantum wires identified as promising for observing zitterbewegung

Detailed analysis of electron dynamics in quantum wells and wires

Abstract

The notion of zitterbewegung is a long-standing prediction of relativistic quantum mechanics. Here we extend earlier theoretical studies on this phenomenon for the case of III-V zinc-blende semiconductors which exhibit particularly strong spin-orbit coupling. This property makes nanostructures made of these materials very favorable systems for possible experimental observations of zitterbewegung. Our investigations include electrons in n-doped quantum wells under the influence of both Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction, and also the two-dimensional hole gas. Moreover, we give a detailed anaysis of electron zitterbewegung in quantum wires which appear to be particularly suited for experimentally observing this effect.