Klein tunneling in carbon nanostructures: a free particle dynamics in disguise

TL;DR

This paper explains the phenomena of Klein tunneling and absence of backscattering in carbon nanostructures through a supersymmetry framework, linking low-energy charge carrier behavior to free particle dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a novel supersymmetry approach using a first order Hamiltonian to explain electronic properties of carbon nanostructures.

Findings

Klein tunneling can be described by supersymmetry.

Supersymmetry relates charge carrier behavior to free particles.

The approach unifies phenomena in nanotubes and graphene.

Abstract

The absence of backscattering in metallic nanotubes as well as perfect Klein tunneling in potential barriers in graphene are the prominent electronic characteristics of carbon nanostructures. We show that the phenomena can be explained by a peculiar supersymmetry generated by a first order Hamiltonian and zero order supercharge operators. Like the supersymmetry associated with second order reflectionless finite-gap systems, it relates here the low-energy behavior of the charge carriers with the free particle dynamics.