Room temperature Peierls distortion in small diameter nanotubes -: art. no. 015503

By means of ab initio simulations, we investigate the phonon band structure and electron-phonon coupling in small 4-Angstrom diameter nanotubes. We show that both the C(5,0) and C(3,3) tubes undergo above room temperature a Peierls transition mediated by an acoustical long wavelength and an optical q=2k(F) phonon, respectively. In the armchair geometry, we verify that the electron-phonon coupling parameter lambda originates mainly from phonons at q=2k(F) and is strongly enhanced when the diameter decreases. These results question the origin of superconductivity in small diameter nanotubes.