Dissimilarity between metallic-like transport in the dielectric spin density wave and field-induced spin density wave states in (TMTSF)2PF6

Abstract

We report similarities and differences of the transport features in the spin density wave (SDW) and in the field-induced SDW (FISDW) phases of the quasi-one-dimensional compound (TMTSF)2PF6. As temperature decreases below ≈2 K, the resistance in both phases exhibits a maximum and a subsequent strong drop. However, the characteristic temperature of the R(T) maximum and its scaling behavior in different magnetic fields B are evidence that the nonmonotonic R(T) dependences have different origin in SDW and FISDW regions of the phase diagram. We also found that the borderline T0(B, P) which divides the FISDW region of the P-B-T phase diagram into the hysteresis and nonhysteresis domains terminates in the N=1 subphase; the borderline thus has no extension to the SDW N=0 phase.