Ballistic atomic transport in narrow carbon nanotubes
Year: 2026
Authors: Ambrosetti A., Silvestrelli P.L., Dobson J.F., Salasnich L.
Autors Affiliation: Univ Padua, Dept Fis & Astron, Via Marzolo 8, I-35131 Padua, Italy; Griffith Univ, Sch Environm & Sci, Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia; CNR, Unity Sesto Fiorentino, Ist Nazl Ott, Via Carrara 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Ist Nazl Fis Nucl, Sez Padova, Via Marzolo 8, I-35131 Padua, Italy.
Abstract: Friction forces are conventionally modeled via semiclassical theories that associate energy dissipation with newtonian motion on corrugated interface potentials. This consolidated approach is challenged at the nanoscale by observation of nearly unimpeded water flow in narrow carbon nanotubes (CNTs), in spite of nonvanishing energy corrugations. Here we go beyond the standard newtonian perspective, adopting a quantum mechanical description of 4He flow through narrow CNTs. Building upon our Bloch-wave dynamics [Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 206301 (2023)] we explore realistic flow conditions, including non-negligible interface interactions, finite temperatures, and imperfect CNTs. At T = 0 K we found that 4He waves can propagate through ideally periodic, corrugated interface potentials with no friction: below a critical velocity regulated by interface corrugations, energy loss by emission of plasmon and phonon quanta is forbidden. Introducing realistic impurities/defects one still finds very large mean free paths that can exceed the mu m scale, while thermal phonons and plasmons yield even lower scattering rates. This establishes the unexpected emergence of ballistic wavelike transport in narrow CNTs within realistic nanoscale devices, and demonstrates the intrinsic quantumness of nanoscale interfaces.
Journal/Review: PHYSICAL REVIEW B
Volume: 113 (3) Pages from: 35445-1 to: 35445-8
More Information: A.A., L.S., and P.L.S. are grateful to Prof. F. Ancilotto for fruitful discussion. A.A. has partly been funded by the European Union-Next-Generation EU (Projects No. CN00000041 and No. CUP B93D21010860004) Mission 4, Component 2, Investment 1.4-PNRR-National Center for Gene Therapy and Drugs based on RNA Technology-CN3-Spoke 7 (Biocompting) CUP C93C22002780006, and by University of Padova, PARD grant Quasi-frictionless water superflow in narrow carbon nanotubes: unraveling the true quantum mechanical mechanism. P.L.S. and L.S. are partially supported by the European Quantum Flagship Project PASQuanS2, by the European Union-NextGenerationEU within the National Center for HPC, Big Data and Quantum Computing (Project No. CN00000013, CN1 Spoke 10: Quantum Computing). L.S. is also supported by the BIRD Project Ultracold atoms in curved geometries of the University of Padova, and by Iniziativa Specifica Quantum of INFN. L.S. also thanks the Italian Ministry of University and Research for the PRIN grant Quantum Atomic Mixtures: Droplets, Topological Structures, and Vortices. A.A. and L.S. acknowledge the Italian Ministry of University and Research for the grant Dipartimenti di Eccellenza-Frontiere Quantistiche.KeyWords: Ab-initio; Water; Flow; Friction; SlippageDOI: 10.1103/jx3k-r6p2
