In this work, we discuss the resonance states of a quantum particle in a periodic potential plus a static force. Originally this problem was formulated for a crystal electron subject to a static electric field and it is nowadays known as the Wannier-Stark problem. We describe a novel approach to the Wannier-Stark problem developed in recent years. This approach allows to compute the complex energy spectrum of a Wannier-Stark system as the poles of a rigorously constructed scattering matrix and solves the Wannier-Stark problem without any approximation. The suggested method is very efficient from the numerical point of view and has proven to be a powerful analytic tool for Wannier-Stark resonances appearing in different physical systems such as optical lattices or semiconductor superlattices.

Wannier-Stark states for semiconductor superlattices in strong static fields, where the interband Landau-Zener tunneling cannot be neglected, are rigorously calculated. The lifetime of these metastable states was found to show multiscale oscillations as a function of the static field, which is explained by an interaction with above-barrier resonances. An equation, expressing the absorption spectrum of semiconductor superlattices in terms of the resonance Wannier-Stark states, is obtained and used to calculate the absorption spectrum in the region of high static fields.

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