Autoionization and dressing of excited excitons by free carriers in monolayer WSe2

Abstract: We experimentally demonstrate dressing of the excited exciton states by a continuously tunable Fermi sea of free charge carriers in a monolayer semiconductor. It represents an unusual scenario of two-particle excitations of charged excitons previously inaccessible in conventional material systems. We identify excited state trions, accurately determine their binding energies in the zero-density limit for both electron- and hole-doped regimes, and observe emerging many-body phenomena at elevated doping. Combining experiment and theory we gain access to the intra-exciton coupling facilitated by the interaction with free charge carriers. We provide evidence for a process of autoionization for quasiparticles, a unique scattering pathway available for excited states in atomic systems. Finally, we demonstrate a complete transfer of the optical transition strength from the excited excitons to dressed excitons, Fermi polarons, as well as the associated light emission from their non-equilibrium populations.