Nonlinear conduction of sliding electronic crystals: Charge and Spin Density Waves

TL;DR

This paper presents a model explaining the nonlinear conduction in sliding charge and spin density waves by considering metastable states and their dynamics as the density wave velocity increases, revealing a second threshold field.

Contribution

It introduces a novel model linking metastable states to nonlinear I-V behavior in sliding density waves, highlighting the role of state lifetimes and a second threshold field.

Findings

Metastable states with decreasing lifetimes are accessed at higher velocities.

The second threshold field corresponds to accessing the shortest-lived configurations.

Density waves act as a 'linear accelerator' testing virtual states.

Abstract

A model of local metastable states due to the pinning induces plastic deformations allows to describe the nonlinear I-V curves in sliding density waves -DW. With increasing the DW velocity v, the metastable states of decreasing lifetimes ~1/v are accessed. The characteristic second threshold field is reached when configurations of shortest life time are accessed by the fast moving DW. Thus the DW works as a kind of a ``linear accelerator'' testing virtual states.