The Aharonov-Bohm Interference and Beating in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Interferometers

TL;DR

This paper investigates Aharonov-Bohm interference in single-walled carbon nanotubes, revealing large conductance modulations caused by magnetic fields and demonstrating the nanotube's unique quantum interference effects.

Contribution

It demonstrates the occurrence of Aharonov-Bohm interference and beating phenomena in single-walled carbon nanotubes, highlighting their role as the smallest cylinders exhibiting such quantum effects.

Findings

Large conductance modulations at low magnetic fields

Beating phenomena due to non-degenerate sub-bands

Rich interference patterns linked to nanotube chirality

Abstract

Relatively low magnetic fields applied parallel to the axis of a chiral single-walled carbon nanotube are found causing large modulations to the p-channel or valence band conductance of the nanotube in the Fabry-Perot interference regime. Beating in the Aharonov-Bohm type of interference between two field-induced non-degenerate sub-bands of spiraling electrons is responsible for the observed modulation with a pseudo period much smaller than that needed to reach the flux quantum F0 = h/e through the nanotube cross-section. We show that single-walled nanotubes represent the smallest cylinders exhibiting the Aharonov-Bohm effect with rich interference and beating phenomena arising from well-defined molecular orbitals reflective of the nanotube chirality.