  The electronic structure of pyramidal shaped InAs/GaAs quantum dots is
calculated using an eight-band strain dependent $\bf k\cdot p$ Hamiltonian. The
influence of strain on band energies and the conduction-band effective mass are
examined. Single particle bound-state energies and exciton binding energies are
computed as functions of island size. The eight-band results are compared with
those for one, four and six bands, and with results from a one-band
approximation in which m(r) is determined by the local value of the strain. The
eight-band model predicts a lower ground state energy and a larger number of
excited states than the other approximations.
