  We analyze quantum dot models used in current research for misconceptions
that arise from the choice of basis states for the carriers. The examined
models originate from semiconductor quantum optics, but the illustrated
conceptional problems are not limited to this field. We demonstrate how the
choice of basis states can imply a factorization scheme that leads to an
artificial dependency between two, actually independent, quantities.
Furthermore, we consider an open quantum dot-cavity system and show how the
dephasing, generated by the dissipator in the von Neumann Lindblad equation,
depends on the choice of basis states that are used to construct the collapse
operators. We find that the Rabi oscillations of the s-shell exciton are either
dephased by the dissipative decay of the p-shell exciton or remain unaffected,
depending on the choice of basis states. In a last step we resolve this
discrepancy by taking the full system-reservoir interaction Hamiltonian into
account.
