Conference paper
Paper
Preservation of optical selection rules in an amorphous semiconductor
Abstract
In amorphous solids, distinguishable regions of order exist that can be modeled by regular polytopes in curved (non-euclidean) spaces1,2. We propose that selection rules govern hypothetical physical processes, e.g., optical absorption, in such high symmetry non-euclidean structures. We show an analogy between curved space azimuthal angular momentum m and crystal momentum k. The selection rule {up triangle, open}m=0 corresponds to a vertical {up triangle, open}k = 0 transition in a crystal. In amorphous Si, a remnant of the crystalline k selection rule exists near the 1.1 eV absorption edge. © 1983.