Collisional Lifetimes of Elementary Excitations in Two-Dimensional Systems in the Field of a Strong Electromagnetic Wave

Abstract

A two-dimensional system with two nonequivalent valleys in the field of a strong circularly polarized electromagnetic wave is considered. It is assumed that the optical selection rules for a given polarization of light allow band-to-band transitions only in valleys of one, optically active, type (two-dimensional layer based on transition metal dichalcogenides, gapped graphene, etc.). This leads to the formation of photon-coupled electron–hole pairs, or an “optical insulator” state. It is assumed that the valleys of the second type (optically inactive) are populated with an equilibrium electron gas. The relaxation of elementary excitations in this hybrid system consisting of an electron gas and a gas of electron–hole pairs caused by the Coulomb interaction between the particles is investigated.