Rotobreather in a carbon nanotube bundle

Carbon nanotube (CNT) bundles exhibit unusual mechanical properties, but nonlinear dynamics and possible energy localization in such systems have not yet been analyzed. The dynamics of a rotobreather in the form of a CNT rotating around its axis and placed in an array of similar CNTs is analyzed using a molecular dynamics model with a reduced number of degrees of freedom. The height of the Peierls–Nabarro potential associated with the discreteness of CNTs is estimated. It is found that if a CNT is given rotational kinetic energy not sufficient to overcome the Peierls–Nabarro potential, it does not rotate. Several resonant angular velocities are identified at which the rotating CNT loses its kinetic energy relatively quickly and eventually stops rotating. CNT with a sufficiently large, non-resonant angular velocity emits the rotational energy very slowly.