THEORETICAL STUDIES ON THE LASER-DRIVEN MANY-ELECTRON DYNAMICS OF FINITE-SIZE BORON-NITRIDE NANOTUBES

Abstract

We present a theoretical study on the electronic dynamics of finite-size Boron-Nitride Nanotubes (BNNTs) driven by the linearly polarized (LP) and circularly polarized (CP) intense laser fields. The many-electron dynamics is described by propagating the reduced one-electron density matrix in real-time domain. The high harmonic generation (HHG) spectra and the time evolution of charge density during harmonic generation are demonstrated. Comparison is made with Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs). The selection rules (SRs) for HHG of finite-size nanotubes are established. One of the important consequences of our results is that HHG of finite-size nanotubes are dependent not only on the molecular point-groups but also on the strength of inter chain interactions. The characteristic difference in nonlinear optical properties between finite and infinitely extended zigzag and armchair BNNTs is significant. Another important consequence is that the laser pulse can drive the electrons to move along or normal to tube axis and produce a charge current on the tube wall.