Evidence for Realignment of the Charge Density Wave State in ErTe_{3} and TmTe_{3} under Uniaxial Stress via Elastocaloric and Elastoresistivity Measurements

Abstract

We report the evolution of the charge density wave (CDW) states in the quasi-two-dimensional rare-earth tritellurides (RTe_{3} for R=Er, Tm) under the influence of in-plane uniaxial stress. Measurements of the elastocaloric effect, resistivity, and elastoresistivity allow us to demonstrate the importance of in-plane antisymmetric strain on the CDW and to establish a phase diagram. We show that modest tensile stress parallel to the in-plane a axis can reversibly switch the direction of the ordering wave vector between the two in-plane directions, and present a free-energy expansion which reproduces the general structure of the observed phenomena. This work opens a new avenue in the study of RTe_{3} in its own right, and more generally establishes RTe_{3} as a promising model system for the study of strain-CDW interactions in a quasi-two-dimensional square lattice.