OPTICAL BISTABILITY IN AN ELECTRON-HOLE SYSTEM - THE EFFECT OF PHONONS

We consider an electron-hole system illuminated by a laser and show th at the system shows bistable and multistable behaviours. The mechanism s responsible for these behaviours are discussed in terms of excitonic and phonon interactions. It is found that both the excitonic and the phonon effects contribute to the multistability in the system. With an increase in the strength of the phonon interactions, the system passe s from a phase of multistability to a phase of bistability; the revers e happens as the strength of the electron-hole interaction increases.