Evaluation of the temperature-dependent dielectric function in the valence band of zinc-blende-type semiconductors

We compute the temperature-dependent dielectric function within the context of the random-phase approximation for the $p_{3/2}$-symmetry valence band of semiconductors with a zinc-blende structure. Our results for the spectral density function differ considerably from previously published models and demonstrate that, with increasing temperature, the plasmon and phonon poles become markedly less damped by inter-valence-band transitions.