Optical excitation in the creep phase of plastic charge-density waves

Creep motion of the charge-density wave (CDW) and its change through optical excitation in the low-temperature plastic state of K0.3MoO₃ is analyzed in terms of a local pinning theory. The nonlinear I-V curve below the sliding threshold field can be well reproduced with a numerical calculation, and it is shown that photoexcitation increases the transition probability of phase slips, which promotes the creep motion, and also leads to a relaxation of the phase strain. Photoexcitation can offer an effective method to control the dynamics of CDW through this deformation manipulation.