J. Gerton

Scattering of plasmons at the intersection of two metallic nanotubes: Implications for tunnelling

We study theoretically the plasmon scattering at the intersection of two metallic carbon nanotubes. We demonstrate that for a small angle of crossing, $θ\ll 1$, the transmission coefficient is an oscillatory function of $λ/θ$, where $λ$ is the interaction parameter of the Luttinger liquid in an individual nanotube. We calculate the tunnel density of states, $ν(ω,x)$, as a function of energy, $ω$, and distance, $x$, from the intersection. In contrast to a single nanotube, we find that, in the geometry of crossed nanotubes, conventional "rapid" oscillations in $ν(ω,x)$ due to the plasmon scattering acquire an aperiodic "slow-breathing" envelope which has $λ/θ$ nodes.