Proton channeling through long chiral carbon nanotubes: The rainbow route to equilibration

In this work we investigate the rainbows appearing in channeling of 1 GeV protons through the long (11,911,9) single-wall carbon nanotubes. The nanotube length is varied from 10 to 500 μm. The angular distributions of channeled protons are computed using the numerical solution of the proton equations of motion in the transverse plane and the Monte Carlo method. The rainbows are identified as the rings in the angular distributions, which correspond to the extrema of the proton deflection functions. Each rainbow is characterized by a sharp decrease of the proton yield on its large angle side. As the nanotube length increases, the number of rainbows increases and the average distance between them decreases in an easily predictable way. When the average distance between the rainbows becomes smaller than the resolution of the angular distribution, one cannot distinguish between the adjacent rainbows, and the angular distribution becomes equilibrated. We call this route to equilibration the rainbow route to equilibration. This work is a demonstration of how a simple one-dimensional bound dynamic system can exhibit a complex collective behavior.