Effect of Local Inhomogeneity on Nucleation; Case of Charge Density Wave Depinning

TL;DR

This paper investigates how local inhomogeneities influence the nucleation process, specifically examining charge density wave depinning, and finds that impurities lower the threshold field required for depinning at zero temperature.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical analysis of impurity effects on charge density wave depinning, highlighting the reduction in threshold field due to inhomogeneities.

Findings

Impurities lower the depinning threshold field.

The study uses a classical phase Hamiltonian model.

Results are specific to one-dimensional commensurate charge density waves.

Abstract

The spatial inhomogeneities are expected to affect nucleation process in an essential way. These effects are studied theoretically by considering the case of the depinning of the charge density wave as a typical example. The threshold field of the depinning of the one-dimensional commensurate charge density wave with one impurity has been examined classically based on the phase Hamiltonian at absolute zero. It is found that the threshold field is lowered by a finite amount compared to that in the absence of an impurity.