Stochastic resonance and charge density wave dynamics in quasi-one-dimensional conductors

Abstract Stochastic resonance (SR) in nonlinear systems is a counterintuitive concept in which a weak periodic signal and noise cooperate and give rise to a maximum in the signal-to-noise ratio at the output of the system when the noise is tuned to a certain value. The spatial coupling of a large number of oscillators showing SR may have a constructive effect and leads to the so-called array enhanced stochastic resonance (AESR). We discuss the possible application of SR and AESR concepts to charge density wave (CDW) dynamics in quasi-one-dimensional conductors. We show in a preliminary experiment that the addition of noise can modify the behavior of the CDW in the quasi-one-dimensional conductor K 0.30 MoO 3 .