  A quantum-kinetic approach to the ultrafast dynamics of carrier
multiplication in semiconductor quantum dots is presented. We investigate the
underlying dynamics in the electronic subband occupations and the time-resolved
optical emission spectrum, focusing on the interplay between the light-matter
and the Coulomb interaction. We find a transition between qualitatively
differing behaviors of carrier multiplication, which is controlled by the ratio
of the interaction induced time scale and the pulse duration of the exciting
light pulse. On short time scales, i.e., before intra-band relaxation, this
opens the possibility of detecting carrier multiplication without refering to
measurements of (multi-)exciton lifetimes.
