Electron interactions reinforce minigaps induced in metallic nanotubes by an external field and turn the gap field dependence into a universal power law. An exactly solvable Gross-Neveau model with an SU(4) symmetry is derived for neutral excitations near half filling. Charge excitations, described by a sine-Gordon perturbation of Luttinger liquid theory, are composite solitons formed by the charged and neutral fields with two separate length scales. Charge compressibility at finite density, evaluated in terms of intersoliton interaction, exhibits a crossover from overlapping to nonoverlapping soliton state. Implications for the Coulomb blockade measurements are discussed.

• Received 16 May 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.90.016401