Spectroscopy of four-particle correlations in semiconductor microcavities - art. no. 073306

We present a theory of ultrafast time-resolved pump and probe spectroscopy in semiconductor microcavities. The numerical solutions are in excellent ag reement with experimental data. An analytical study based on the Weisskopf- Wigner approximation gives physical insight into the transient optical nonl inearities of semiconductor microcavites. It is able to explain the physica l origin of the unusual transient shifts and asymmetric-excitation-induced dephasing observed experimentally. This theory demonstrates that the nonper turbative regime provides a unique tool for measuring the spectrum of four- particle correlations.