FLUCTUATIONS AND THERMODYNAMICS OF THE CHARGE-DENSITY-WAVE PHASE-TRANSITION

We present results on the resistivity, specific heat Cp, and susceptibility of K0.3MoO3 near the Peierls transition Tp at 180 K. Our resistivity measurements demonstrate that fluctuations intrinsic to the material persist over a temperature interval that is at least 30 K wide. Associated with the large fluctuations is en enhanced specific-heat anomaly that we analyze in terms of the short coherence lengths characteristic of many Peierls systems. We find a scaling relation between the spin susceptibility and the specific heat that covers the intrinsic fluctuation regime. © 1990 The American Physical Society.