Semiconductor Physics Prerequisites for Excitons

Review the effective mass approximation using k·p theory and the concept of light-hole, heavy-hole, and split-off valence bands.

Apply the envelope function approximation to describe slowly varying wavefunctions in bulk semiconductors.

Formulate the joint density of states for an electron-hole pair and define the reduced effective mass.

Evaluate optical transition matrix elements for direct bandgap semiconductors, establishing the k-selection rule.