Favoritism of quantum dot inter-Coulombic decay over direct and multi-photon ionization by laser strength and focus.

We study the dynamics of a two-electron system undergoing resonant excitation and inter-Coulombic decay (ICD) in a pair of quantum dots. The influence of the focus of the exciting laser on the ICD process is investigated for a π-pulse with a close look on competing processes, i.e., direct ionization and multi-photon excitations. We scan through the field strength up to six Rabi cycles to show that ICD is still verifiable after several population inversions. With novel analyses, we determine for the first time populations of the different continuum states and thus conclude on the importance of several multi-photon excitation channels. Finally, we look into the influence of complex absorbing potentials on the dynamics.