Theory of phase-separation dynamics in high-density electron-hole systems

The phase-separation dynamics in a high-density electron-hole (e-h) system is investigated theoretically to understand how the e-h liquid or droplet is formed spatiotemporally in a nonequilibriurn situation. We stress two characteristic points of such dynamics: the finite-lifetime effect and the quantum nature. To clarify these separately, two types of theoretical framework are introduced: a spinodal-decomposition theory taking into account the finite lifetime of classical particles, and a quantum generalized Langevin theory derived from a microscopic e-h Hamiltonian coupled with a phonon reservoir. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.