We demonstrate that resonant Rayleigh scattering can dominate the secondary
emission of quantum wells for much longer times than previously reported.
Coherent manipulation of the quantum state of the system allows cancellatio
n of the beats preserving subpicosecond time resolution. The main features
of the rise and decay of the emission are unmasked showing that the latter
can be governed by excitonic dephasing. [S0163-1829(99)01631-8].