Solitons in Carbon Nanotubes

TL;DR

This paper explores the existence and properties of solitons, domain walls, and polarons in carbon nanotubes, revealing their fractional charges and localized states, which can be experimentally observed via STM spectroscopy.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical analysis of topological solitons and polaron states in carbon nanotubes, extending concepts from polyacetylene to nanotube systems.

Findings

Solitons in nanotubes are fractionally charged.

Localized mid-gap states are predicted and characterized.

Potential for experimental detection via STM spectroscopy.

Abstract

The symmetries of spontaneous lattice distortions in carbon nanotubes are investigated. When the degeneracy of the ground states remains discrete, there are solitons or domain walls connecting the different symmetry broken vaccua. These solitons, similarly to the case of polyacetelene, are fractionally charged states. In addition to the topological domain walls, there are polaron states with discrete energies within the energy gap. The energies and shapes of these localized mid-gap states should be accessible via STM spectroscopy.