- Perspective
Giant oscillator strength of weakly bound excitons: From Rashba's vision to modern quantum technologies
Phys. Rev. B 113, 179603 – Published 6 May, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/798c-k1z2
Abstract
We present a tribute to Emmanuel Rashba's foundational work on giant oscillator strength of weakly bound excitons, tracing its evolution from early theoretical predictions through modern applications in ultrafast excitonic light emitters. The phenomenon, initially met with skepticism but later vindicated through extensive experimental validation, demonstrates how weakly confined excitons can exhibit oscillator strengths dramatically enhanced over their bulk counterparts due to coherent excitation across their entire localization volume. This effect has become crucial for ultrafast quantum emitters in perovskite nanocrystals and other quantum-confined systems, enabling subnanosecond radiative decay times essential for next-generation quantum technologies.
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Honoring the legacy of Emmanuel Rashba
The passing of Professor Emmanuel Rashba in early 2025 was an irreparable loss to the physics community. For many decades prior, his numerous significant contributions have been driving solid state physics to surprising new places, realizations, and applications. To pay tribute to his many enduring, groundbreaking ideas, Physical Review B presents a special Collection with contributions by some of his disciples, collaborators, and connoisseurs of his mastery in top-shelf solid state research. Papers belonging to the collection will be published through 2026. It was initiated by Mark Dykman and Alexander Efros and colleagues. An Editorial from them and the contributed articles are linked below.
