Momentum-dependent electron-phonon coupling in charge density wave systems

Pouget, Jean-Paul;Canadell, Enric;Guster, Ionel-Bogdan
(2021) Physical Review B — Vol. 103, n° 11, p. 115135 (2021)

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  • Pouget, Jean-Paulorcid-logoLaboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS UMR 8502, Université de Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France
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  • Canadell, Enricorcid-logoInstitut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona, ICMAB-CSIC, Campus Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
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  • Guster, Ionel-Bogdanorcid-logoUCLouvain
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Abstract
Many charge density wave (CDW) systems exhibit q(T) electron-hole modulations continuously varying with T and saturating upon cooling at an incommensurate value even if the maximum occurring in the electron-hole Lindhard response does not exhibit such a thermal shift. Using a simple RPA argument we show that the experimental q(T) can be understood if the electron-phonon coupling (EPC) g(q), necessary to set coupled electronic and structural modulations, is momentum dependent. In this analysis, the sense of variation of q(T) depends upon the sign of ∂g(q)∂q and its amplitude of thermal variation is controlled by the electron-hole coherence length (or CDW rigidity) in the modulation direction. This model quantitatively accounts for the thermal dependence of q(T) in the one-dimensional (1D) CDW system K0.3MoO3 (blue bronze) both in its CDW ground state and in its pretransitional CDW fluctuation regime. We suggest that such a general analysis can be extended to account for the q(T) dependence observed in other 1D and 2D CDW systems such as the transition metal di- and trichalcogenides as well as the lanthanide and rare-earth tritellurides. Using a detailed analysis of the low frequency phonon spectrum of the blue bronze, we then propose a new scenario for the q dependent EPC, where g(q) is due to a momentum-dependent hybridization between the critical phonon branch bearing the Kohn anomaly and other low-lying phonon branches. This allows obtaining a sign of ∂g(q)∂q in agreement with that deduced from the analysis of q(T). Finally, we propose that similar hybridization effects could also be relevant for other 1D and 2D CDW systems exhibiting a thermally dependent modulation.
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Pouget, J.-P., Canadell, E., & Guster, I.-B. (2021). Momentum-dependent electron-phonon coupling in charge density wave systems. Physical Review B, 103(11), 115135. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.103.115135 (Original work published 2021)