The many-body state of carriers confined in a quantum dot is controlled by the balance between their kinetic energy and their Coulomb correlation. In coupled quantum dots, both can be tuned by varying the inter-dot tunneling and interactions. Using a theoretical approach based on the diagonalization of the exact Hamiltonian, we show that transitions between different quantum phases can be induced through inter-dot coupling both for a system of few electrons (or holes) and for aggregates of electrons and holes. We discuss their manifestations in addition energy spectra (accessible through capacitance or transport experiments) and optical spectra.
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