Theory of Chiral Transport in Carbon Nanotubes

TL;DR

This paper develops a theoretical model for chiral transport in carbon nanotubes, revealing that chiral conductivity varies with Fermi energy and depends on nanotube chirality, influenced by subband structure and Fermi surface warping.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework for understanding chiral conductivity in carbon nanotubes, highlighting its dependence on chirality and electronic structure.

Findings

Chiral conductivity is generally non-zero in chiral nanotubes.

Chiral conductivity oscillates with Fermi energy.

Oscillations are linked to subband structure and Fermi surface warping.

Abstract

Based on the similarity between the chiral nanotube and the classical solenoid, we study chiral transport along the circumferential direction in a carbon nanotube. We calculate the chiral conductivity, representing a circumferential current induced by an electric field along the nanotube axis for various chiralities of carbon nanotubes. We find that the chiral conductivity in a chiral nanotube is in general non zero, and oscillates as a function of the Fermi energy. This oscillating behavior is attributed to the subband structure of the nanotubes and the warping of the Fermi surfaces.