Is there an intuitive explanation of how the crystal momentum can change to excite an electron from the valence band to the conduction band?
How does a photon change the crystal momentum of an electron to push it up to the conduction band? How does it work on the quantum scale of things?
From what I understand, the photons create wave-like vibrations in the crystalline structure that carry the electron and shift its momentum towards the conduction band? If so, how does a photon achieve that?