Origin of Broadband Noise in Charge-Density-Wave Conductors

We report experimental results on the broadband noise in the sliding---charge-density-wave conductor, orthorhombic TaS₃. We propose that the noise has its origin in the interaction of a deformable condensate with random impurities. The experimental results are in excellent agreement with a phenomenological model based on fluctuations in the impurity pinning force due to deformations of the sliding condensate. The amplitude of the noise is directly related to the dynamic coherence volume of these deformations.