Collisions of three-dimensional bipolar optical solitons in an array of carbon nanotubes

TL;DR

This paper investigates the collision dynamics of three-dimensional bipolar optical solitons in a carbon nanotube array, revealing conditions for stable post-collision propagation through numerical analysis.

Contribution

It provides a detailed theoretical and numerical analysis of soliton interactions in nanotube arrays, including effects of nonuniform fields and stability of post-collision pulses.

Findings

Stable post-collision propagation of pulses over long distances

Effects of field nonuniformity on pulse evolution

Numerical visualization of electric field distribution during interactions

Abstract

We study interactions of extremely short three-dimensional bipolar electromagnetic pulses propagating towards each other in an array of semiconductor carbon nanotubes, along any direction perpendicular to their axes. The analysis provides a full account of the effects of the nonuniformity of the pulses' fields along the axes. The evolution of the electromagnetic field and charge density in the sample is derived from the Maxwell's equations and the continuity equation, respectively. In particular, we focus on indirect interaction of the pulses via the action of their fields on the electronic subsystem of the nanotube array. Changes in the shape of pulses in the course of their propagation and interaction are analyzed by calculating and visualizing the distribution of the electric field in the system. The numerical analysis reveals a possibility of stable post-collision propagation of pulses over distances much greater than their sizes.