Phases of $^4$He and H$_2$ adsorbed on a single carbon nanotube

Abstract

Using a diffusion Monte Carlo (DMC) technique, we calculated the phase diagrams of $^4$He and H$_2$ adsorbed on a single (5,5) carbon nanotube, one of the narrowest that can be obtained experimentally. For a single monolayer, when the adsorbate density increases, both species undergo a series of first order solid-solid phase transitions between incommensurate arrangements. Remarkably, the $^4$He lowest-density solid phase shows supersolid behavior in contrast with the normal solid that we found for H$_2$. The nature of the second-layer is also different for both adsorbates. Contrarily to what happens on graphite, the second-layer of $^4$He on that tube is a liquid, at least up to the density corresponding to a third-layer promotion on a flat substrate. However, the second-layer of H$_2$ is a solid that, at its lowest stable density, has a small but observable superfluid fraction.