Sliding Dynamics of the Incommensurate Chain

Abstract

The dc dynamics of the sliding incommensurate chain is reduced to a purely static problem. The sliding system is described by a static hull function which becomes singular, above the critical pinning strength, as the velocity approaches zero. Both ac and dc sliding dynamics are determined numerically for the cases of weak and strong pinning and short- and long-range interactions. Excellent agreement is obtained with experiments on sliding charge-density waves near threshold, both in Nb${\mathrm{Se}}_3$ and in Ta${\mathrm{S}}_3$.