Polarization-Field Influence on Light-Ion Channeling in Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

The polarization potential of the interaction between fast charged particles and multilayer-nanotube walls, which arises due to the excitation of surface modes of electromagnetic oscillations, is estimated. A nanotube is interpreted as a set of concentric cylindrical layers with specified dielectric properties. Formulas for calculating the polarization-field potential are derived as applied to a charged particle moving parallel to the multilayer nanotube axis. Numerical calculations are performed in the single-mode approximation of a dielectric function. The polarization forces arising in a multilayer nanotube are compared with those corresponding to the single-layer one. It is demonstrated that, under certain conditions, existing external layers can sufficiently affect the polarization forces acting on charged-particle channeling in a nanotube. At the same time, model calculations indicate that outer layers exert an insignificant influence on the polarization losses of the channeling-particle energy.