Topological transitions and fractional charges induced by strain and magnetic field in carbon nanotubes
| Autor: | Shahal Ilani, Erez Berg, Yonathan Efroni |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
Physics
Condensed matter physics Condensed Matter - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics General Physics and Astronomy FOS: Physical sciences Charge (physics) 02 engineering and technology 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology Coupling (probability) 01 natural sciences Symmetry (physics) 3. Good health Magnetic field Quantization (physics) 0103 physical sciences Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) Topological order Soliton 010306 general physics 0210 nano-technology Spin-½ |
| Zdroj: | Physical Review Letters |
| Popis: | We show that carbon nanotubes (CNT) can be driven through a topological phase transition using either strain or a magnetic field. This can naturally lead to Jackiw-Rebbi soliton states carrying fractionalized charges, similar to those found in a domain wall in the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model, in a setup with a spatially inhomogeneous strain and an axial field. Two types of fractionalized states can be formed at the interface between regions with different strain: a spin-charge separated state with integer charge and spin zero (or zero charge and spin $\pm \hbar/2$), and a state with charge $\pm e/2$ and spin $\pm \hbar/4$. The latter state requires spin-orbit coupling in the CNT. We show that in our setup, the precise quantization of the fractionalized interface charges is a consequence of the symmetry of the CNT under a combination of a spatial rotation by $\pi$ and time reversal. Finally, we comment on the effects of many-body interaction on this phenomena. Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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