Dynamic nuclear Overhauser shifts in Larmor beats from a quantum well

The significance of nuclear spin polarisation in time-resolved optical studies of III–V semiconductors is addressed. Electron Larmor beats in pump-probe reflectivity from a GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well show Overhauser shift of 0.7 T due to accumulated nuclear polarisation 〈I〉/I=0.065. This leads to precision values of electron g-factor, elucidates nuclear spin pumping and diffusion mechanisms in quantum wells and informs discussion of implications for spin-electronics and transport.