Propagation of supersonic soliton in carbon nanotubes of armchair type

Abstract

The propagation of a localized ring nonlinear wave in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) of armchair type has been explored using the MD/DFTB method. It is unambiguously shown that the considered localized waves are soliton-type. Herewith, the higher a velocity of an initial perturbation, the higher a steady-state velocity of the considered soliton. It is established that at a high initial excitation energy in a time period of 0.1-0.2 ps the soliton moves at the speed in the range of 245-270 Angstrem/ps, which is approximately in 1.22-1.35 times higher than the speed of sound in CNTs (200 Angstrem/ps). It is shown that the soliton velocity practically does not change with increasing CNT radius Keywords: molecular dynamics, carbon nanotubes, soliton, supersonic wave.