LO Phonon Renormalization in Optically Excited CuCl Nanocrystals

Abstract
We have revealed sharp structures in the absorption spectrum of CuCl nanocrystals using persistent hole-burning spectroscopy and observed sidebands due to phonon-assisted absorption. The LO phonon frequency in the excited state of the nanocrystal is reduced by about 10% from the free value due to mixing with the exciton. When the mixing becomes resonant, the phonon sideband anticrosses with the excited exciton state. We present a theory of the phonon renormalization in nanocrystals and obtain results in excellent agreement with the experiment.