Interaction of Laser Light and Electrons with Nanotubes

Abstract

Electronic states in designed geometries are attracting considerable attention. In this work, it is shown that it may be possible to induce ultrafast mechanical rotation in nanotubes using circularly polarized light. We predict a novel set of Rydberg-like electronic states around nanotubes having long lifetimes and exotic properties. Preliminary work on the interaction of slow electrons with an array of parallel nanotubes is discussed.