  The self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) provide an ideal platform for
realization of quantum information technology because it provides on demand
single photons, entangled photon pairs from biexciton cascade pro- cess, single
spin qubits, and so on. The fine structure splitting (FSS) of exciton is a
fundamental property of QDs for thees applications. From the symmetry point of
view, since the two bright exciton states belong to two different
representations for QDs with C2v symmetry, they should not only have different
energies, but also have different lifetimes, which is termed exciton lifetime
asymmetry. In contrast to extensively studied FSS, the investigation of the
exciton lifetime asymmetry is still missed in literature. In this work, we
carried out the first investigation of the exciton lifetime asymmetry in
self-assembled QDs and presented a theory to deduce lifetime asymmetry
indirectly from measurable qualities of QDs. We further revealed that intrinsic
lifetimes and their asymmetry are fundamental quantities of QDs, which
determine the bound of the extrinsic lifetime asymmetries, polarization angles,
FSSs, and their evolution under uniaxial external forces. Our findings provide
an important basis to deeply understanding properties of QDs.
