Direct observation of the decay of a coherent polarization into an incoherent exciton population in quantum wells

Summary form only given. We experimentally demonstrate the validity of the concept that separates coherent polarization and incoherent exciton population. We observed directly the transfer of polarization into population. The decay of the microscopic polarization builds up the population, but the macroscopic polarization in form of Rayleigh scattering decays faster when inhomogeneous broadening dominates.