Optically induced persistent current in carbon nanotubes

TL;DR

This paper theoretically shows that off-resonant circularly polarized light can induce a persistent current in carbon nanotubes, leading to a measurable magnetic moment depending on their structure, analyzed via Floquet theory.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to generate persistent currents in nanotubes using off-resonant light, expanding understanding of light-matter interactions in nanostructures.

Findings

Persistent current can be optically induced in nanotubes.

The induced magnetic moment depends on the nanotube's crystal structure.

Floquet theory effectively describes the electronic response to irradiation.

Abstract

We demonstrate theoretically that an off-resonant circularly polarized electromagnetic field can induce a persistent current in carbon nanotubes, which corresponds to electron rotation about the nanotube axis. As a consequence, the nanotubes acquire magnetic moment along the axis, which depends on their crystal structure and can be detected in state-of-the-art measurements. This effect and related phenomena are analyzed within the developed Floquet theory describing the electronic properties of the nanotubes irradiated by the field.