December 2007, to be published in Physical Review B15


Aharanov-Bohm effect for the edge states of zigzag carbon nanotubes
K. Sasaki, M. Suzuki, and R. Saito

Two delocalized states of metallic zigzag carbon nanotubes near the Dirac point can be localized by the Aharanov-Bohm magnetic field around 20 Tesla. The dependence of the localization on the length and diameter of the nanotubes shows that the localization-delocalization transition can be observed for 2 nm diameter tube. The mechanism of the localization is explained in terms of the deformation-induced gauge field, which shows a topological nature of the localization. The transition from the delocalized states to the localized states can be observed by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. A similarity between the transition and the spin Hall effect is discussed.

© 2008 The American Physical Society.