Controllable electron spin dephasing due to phonon state distinguishability in a coupled quantum dot system

We predict a spin pure dephasing channel in electron relaxation between states with unequal Zeeman splittings, exemplified by a spin-preserving electron tunneling between quantum dots in a magnetic field. The dephasing is caused by a mismatch in electron g-factors in the dots leading to distinguishability of phonons emitted during tunneling with opposite spins. Combining multiband boldsymbol{k}{cdot}boldsymbol{p} modeling and dynamical simulations via a Master equation we show that this fundamental effect of spin measurement effected by the phonon bath may be widely controlled by the size and composition of the dots or on demand, via tuning of external fields. By comparing the numerically simulated degree of dephasing with the predictions of general theory based on distinguishability of environment states, we show that the proposed mechanism is the dominant phonon-related spin dephasing channel and may limit spin coherence time in tunnel-coupled structures at cryogenic temperatures.