Metastable chaotic state and the soliton density in incommensurateRb2ZnCl4

Abstract

The temperature dependence of the soliton density $n_s$ derived from the dielectric data in ${\mathrm{Rb}}_2$Zn${\mathrm{Cl}}_4$ is compared with the one obtained from nuclear-magnetic-resonance measurements and x-ray scattering data. The finite value of $n_s$ at the "lock-in" transition $T_c$ and the nonzero value of $n_s$ below $T_c$ demonstrate that on cooling through $T_c$ a metastable chaotic state with randomly pinned solitons is reached.