Quantum oscillations and current distribution in Cylindrical graphite

Abstract

We experimentally investigate the Quantum oscillations on macroscopic cylindrical graphite to study the influence of geometry and magnetic field on the behavior of charge carriers. The magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder and the current is injected along the axis. The Landau quantization depends on the radial component of the magnetic field, which results in an angular dependence of the energy landscape on the surface of the cylinder. This in turn leads to a redistribution of charge carriers on the surface of the cylinder. The cylindrical graphite is modelled as a resistor network of strips of flat graphite. We show that the resistor network model qualitatively captures the quantum oscillatory features observed on cylindrical graphite and can predict the angular distribution of current on the surface. The experiments on the cylindrical graphite thus illustrates the interplay of geometry and magnetic field to control the spatial density of charge carriers in a solid state system.