Effects of rotation on Landau states of electrons on a spherical shell

• Published in: Physics letters. A 2018-09, Vol.382 (36), p.2499-2505
• Main Authors: Lima, Jonas R.F., de Pádua Santos, Antônio, Cunha, Márcio M., Moraes, F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Curved surface; Inertial effects; Landau levels
• ISSN: 0375-9601; 1873-2429
• DOI: 10.1016/j.physleta.2018.07.029

•Effects of rotation on Landau states of electrons on a spherical shell.•Total cancellation of the magnetic field effects by rotation.•Controlling of the Landau levels by rotation. Based on a previously observed analogy between electromagnetic and non-inertial effects, we investigate the competition between magnetic field and rotation in the quantum motion of an electron constrained to the surface of a sphere. We solve numerically the Schrödinger equation of the problem for the energy eigenvalues and the eigenfunctions and compare the effects of the magnetic field and rotation. We obtain that, for a weak magnetic field, an electron can not distinguish between magnetic field and rotation, since they lead to equivalent behavior. But this is no longer true for strong magnetic fields. However, surprisingly, even though the rotation and magnetic fields play different roles in the electronic properties of the system, when together, each influence of the magnetic field on the energy levels can be separately balanced by rotation. We also show that no matter the intensity of the magnetic field, it is always possible to destroy the Landau levels in the sphere by rotation.