Glass transition from a slush to a real glass in charge-density-wave compound TaS3

We have found by broad-band dielectric spectroscopy of charge density wave (CDW) compound TaS3 that the main relaxation time representing CDW viscosity shows a critical slowing down in the range 55-50 K. At lower temperatures two additional processes appear that we assign to the defects in CDW superlattice. Based on very strong similarity with the glass transition in supercooled liquids, we propose a consistent scenario of the glass transition from a CDW slush to a real CDW glass. The length/time scales involved imply the existence of a new family of glasses in systems with the long-range order such as CDW. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.