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It seems there is a consensus that in the gate-defined quantum dot exists isolated electron with well-defined spin. And I understand that by tuning the voltages applied to the 2DEG at quantum well, the isolated island of charge distribution can be formed and might even get smaller down to the scale of a single charge, which I'll simply call "quantum dot."

So what makes me confusing is this; I might have misread, but many papers use an effective mass and g factor for an "electron" confined in a quantum dot. However, as far as I know, those physical quantities are kind of a "dressed" quantity for a Bloch wave packet, which is just a quasiparticle but not an electron.

So here's my question: Are electrons in a semiconductor quantum dot is a real electron or just a quasiparticle with a well-defined spin?

Qmechanic
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Neophyte
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1 Answers1

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Free electrons in semiconductors are not real, but quasiparticles. In fact, one often models semiconductor heterostructure as an effective potential imposed on electrons in an effective mass approximation. So in terms of the electron mass, g-factor and other properties, these electrons have the same qualities as they would have in a bulk material.

Roger V.
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