AbstractWe have modeled strain‐induced quantum dots and analyzed previous anomalous experimental observations of a cooling of radiative quantum dot (QD) excitons by THz radiation. We have made three‐dimensional (3D) modeling of the elastic strain and piezoelectric fields. The 3D electronic structure was simulated using multiband envelope function techniques and used as a basis for Monte‐Carlo simulations of the carrier dynamics.We have found that the THz radiation‐induced QD exciton cooling is due to an electron‐hole separation and a related THz radiation excitation of holes within the quantum dot. This phenomenon is maintained by an effective relaxation of holes into states which are well separated from the confined electrons. The relaxation of holes is attributed to acoustic phonon emission and, at high carrier densities, to Auger processes. The electron and hole populations of the quantum dot tend towards a highly polarized state that cannot be broken without external excitations of the holes (by e.g. THz radiation or a thermal bath). (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)