Unavoidable decoherence in semiconductor quantum dots

Phonon-induced unavoidable decoherence of orbital degrees of freedom in quantum dots is studied and the relevant time scales are estimated. Dephasing of excitons due to acoustic phonons and, in a polar medium, to optical phonons, including anharmonic effects and enhancement of the effective Frohlich constant due to localization, is assessed for typical self-assembled quantum dots. Temporal inefficiency of Pauli blocking due to lattice inertia is predicted. For quantum dots placed in a diluted magnetic semiconductor medium a magnon-induced dephasing of a spin is also estimated in accordance with experimental results.