Position-dependent mass effects in the electronic transport of two-dimensional quantum systems: Applications to nanotubes

Abstract

In this work, we investigate the electronic transport properties of curved two-dimensional quantum systems with a position-dependent mass (PDM). We find the Schrödinger equation for a general surface following the da Costa approach, obtaining the geometrical potential for systems with PDM. We obtain expressions for the transmittance and reflectance for a general surface of revolution and, as a first application of the general results obtained here, we investigate the transport properties of deformed nanotubes whose variation of the effective mass with the radius has been disconsidered in previous studies. We find that the inclusion of the position-dependent mass, can induce a significant correction in the transport properties of the system. This reveals that the transport properties of two-dimensional quantum systems are sensitive to the PDM and that, when modeling electronic transport in surfaces, these effects should be considered.