We report direct investigations of the coherence of four-particle (exciton-exciton) correlations by ultrafast four-wave mixing experiments. We determine the sensitivity of the coherence of the four-particle correlations to temperature and excitation density, comparing it to the coherence of the two-particle correlations. We discuss our results in terms of numerical solutions of the general kinetic equations, treating the four-particle correlations in the second order Born approximation. We introduce a simple model deduced from these kinetic equations that provides an intuitive interpretation of our results.

• Received 13 May 1998

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.5386