Influence of a constriction on the motion of graphene kinks

Abstract

Graphene kinks are topological states of buckled graphene membranes. We show that when a moving kink encounters a constriction, there are three general classes of behavior: reflection, trapping, and transmission. Overall, constriction is characterized by an attractive potential. In the case of a simple symmetric constriction, the kink potential energy has a relatively deep minimum surrounded by energy barriers. However, the potential energy alone does not fully define the class of behavior: the effect of a resonant reflection was observed in our simulations. Moreover, we demonstrate that asymmetric constrictions can transform kinks from one type into another. MD simulation results are compared with predictions of the classical $\phi^4$ model.