Controlling the Dark Exciton Spin Eigenstates by External Magnetic Field

Abstract

We study the dark exciton's behavior as a coherent physical two-level spin system (qubit) using an external magnetic field in the Faraday configuration. Our studies are based on polarization-sensitive intensity autocorrelation measurements of the optical transition resulting from the recombination of a spin-blockaded biexciton state, which heralds the dark exciton and its spin state. We demonstrate control over the dark exciton eigenstates without degrading its decoherence time. Our observations agree well with computational predictions based on a master equation model.