Low-temperature specific heat in the charge-density-wave state of ZrTe 3 and NbTe 4

Abstract

Low-temperature specific heat of CDW compounds ZrTe 3 and NbTe 4, measured between 1.5 and 10 K , exhibited an anomaly which deviates from the regular phonon term; an excess specific-heat contribution appeared around T=6 K . The excess contribution was well presented in terms of the phason contribution of CDW. The pinning frequency estimated from the analysis was quite high in comparison to the value of common CDW conductors, which is not inconsistent with the linear relation between current and voltage.