Sum-over-states versus quasiparticle pictures of coherent correlation spectroscopy of excitons in semiconductors: Femtosecond analogs of multidimensional NMR

Two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2DCS), based on the nonlinear optical response of excitons to sequences of ultrafast pulses may provide some unique insights into carrier dynamics in semiconductors. The most prominent feature of 2DCS, cross peaks, can best be understood using a sum-over-states picture involving the many-body eigenstates. However, the optical response of semiconductors is usually calculated by solving truncated equations of motion for dynamical variables, which result in a quasiparticle picture. In this work we derive Green's function expressions for the four wave mixing signals generated in various phase-matching directions and use them to establish the connection between the two pictures. The formal connection with Frenkel excitons (hard-core bosons) and vibrational excitons (soft-core bosons) is pointed out.