Destabilization of a Charge-Density Wave by an Oscillatory Chemical Potential

Abstract

The influence of an oscillatory chemical potential {tilde {mu}} within the gap equation of a commensurate charge-density wave (CDW) is shown to lead to a new type of quantum oscillatory effect in the susceptibility of the nested one-dimensional sheets, with frequency exactly double that of the two-dimensional pocket from which oscillations in {tilde {mu}} originate. On approaching the Pauli paramagnetic limit, {tilde {mu}} further leads to a cascade of multiple first-order phase transitions between CDW and normal metallic phases. These ideas are applied to {alpha}-(BEDT{minus}TTF){sub 2}MHg(SCN){sub 4} charge-transfer salts. {copyright} {ital 1999} {ital The American Physical Society}