Magneto-optics of three-dimensional quantum dots: a real time, time-dependent local spin-density approach

We perform adiabatic time-dependent local spin-density approximation (TDLSDA) calculations in real time of the excitation spectrum of three-dimensional quantum dots (QD's) in magnetic fields of arbitrary direction. In the case of parabolic confinement and electric dipole modes, the calculations reproduce exactly the generalized Kohn theorem, which is a stringent test of the numerical accuracy achieved by our practical implementation of TDLSDA. We apply the method to the study of spin dipole modes in a QD. Real time TDLSDA can be more efficient than Green's function methods to compute the dynamical properties of confined electrons, especially when the finite thickness of the system has to be taken into account. As an illustration, we obtain the dipole spin modes and the acoustic modes of vertical diatomic artificial quantum molecules at zero magnetic field. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.