Transversely Driven Charge Density Waves and Striped Phases of High-T$_c$ Superconductors: The Current Effect Transistor

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that a transverse current can significantly influence charge density waves in high-Tc superconductors, enhancing correlations and enabling a novel current-controlled transistor effect.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of a current effect transistor driven by transverse currents affecting charge density waves, with implications for striped phases in high-Tc superconductors.

Findings

Transverse current exponentially enhances CDW correlations.

Transverse current exponentially suppresses the CDW depinning field.

A linear regime appears in the I-V relation due to the transverse current.

Abstract

We show that a normal (single particle) current density $J_x$ {\em transverse} to the ordering wavevector $2k_F{\bf\hat{z}}$ of a charge density wave (CDW) has dramatic effects both above and {\em below} the CDW depinning transition. It exponentially (in $J_x$) enhances CDW correlations, and exponentially suppresses the longitudinal depinning field. The intermediate longitudinal I-V relation also changes, acquiring a {\em linear} regime. We propose a novel ``current effect transistor'' whose CDW channel is turned on by a transverse current. Our results also have important implications for the recently proposed ``striped phase'' of the high-T$_c$ superconductors.