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Condensed Matter > Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics

arXiv:2604.06490 (cond-mat)
[Submitted on 7 Apr 2026]

Title:Ballistic atomic transport in narrow carbon nanotubes

Authors:Alberto Ambrosetti, Pier Luigi Silvestrelli, John F. Dobson, Luca Salasnich
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Abstract:Friction forces are conventionally modeled via semiclassical theories that associate energy dissipation with newtonian motion on corrugated interface potentials. This consolidated approach is challenged at the nanoscale by observation of nearly unimpeded water flow in narrow carbon nanotubes (CNTs), in spite of nonvanishing energy corrugations. Here we go beyond the standard newtonian perspective, adopting a quantum mechanical description of 4 He flow through narrow CNTs. Building upon our Bloch-wave dynamics [Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 206301 (2023)] we explore realistic flow conditions, including non-negligible interface interactions, finite temperatures, and imperfect CNTs. At T = 0 K we found that 4 He waves can propagate through ideally periodic, corrugated interface potentials with no friction: below a critical velocity regulated by interface corrugations, energy loss by emission of plasmon and phonon quanta is forbidden. Introducing realistic impurities/defects one still finds very large mean free paths that can exceed the micrometer scale, while thermal phonons and plasmons yield even lower scattering rates. This establishes the unexpected emergence of ballistic wavelike transport in narrow CNTs within realistic nanoscale devices, and demonstrates the intrinsic quantumness of nanoscale interfaces.
Comments: 3 figures
Subjects: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall); Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other)
Cite as: arXiv:2604.06490 [cond-mat.mes-hall]
  (or arXiv:2604.06490v1 [cond-mat.mes-hall] for this version)
  https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2604.06490
arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite
Journal reference: Phys. Rev. B 113, 035445 (2026)
Related DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/jx3k-r6p2
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From: Alberto Ambrosetti [view email]
[v1] Tue, 7 Apr 2026 21:49:09 UTC (3,216 KB)
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