Aharanov-Bohm effect for the edge states of zigzag carbon nanotubes

TL;DR

This paper investigates how a strong magnetic field induces localization of edge states in zigzag carbon nanotubes, revealing a topological transition observable via microscopy, with implications for quantum transport.

Contribution

It demonstrates magnetic-field-induced localization of edge states in zigzag nanotubes and explains the mechanism using deformation-induced gauge fields, highlighting a topological aspect.

Findings

Localization occurs at around 20 Tesla for 2 nm diameter nanotubes.

The transition can be observed with scanning tunneling microscopy.

The mechanism involves a deformation-induced gauge field with topological properties.

Abstract

Two delocalized states of metallic zigzag carbon nanotubes near the Dirac point can be localized by the Aharanov-Bohm magnetic field around 20 Tesla. The dependence of the localization on the length and diameter of the nanotubes shows that the localization-delocalization transition can be observed for 2 nm diameter tube. The mechanism of the localization is explained in terms of the deformation-induced gauge field, which shows a topological nature of the localization. The transition from the delocalized states to the localized states can be observed by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. A similarity between the transition and the spin Hall effect is discussed.