We have measured the effect of elastic strain ǫ on the threshold field ET for the motion of the higher temperature charge density wave(CDW) in NbSe3. We find that ET exhibits a critical behavior, ET ∼ (1 − ǫ/ǫc) γ where ǫc is about 2.6%, γ ∼1.2. This expression remains valid over more than two decades of ET , up to the highest fields of about 1.5 kV/m measured using pulse techniques. Neither γ nor ǫc is very sensitive to the impurity content of the sample. The transition temperature is linear with ǫ, and dTP /dǫ = 10 K/% shows no anomaly near ǫc. The slope of the narrow band noise frequency vs. the CDW current does not change appreciably with ǫ. Shubnikov-de Haas measurements show that the extremal area of the Fermi surface decreases with increasing ǫ. We conclude that there is a very intimate relationship between pinning and the Fermiology in NbSe3.

Erratum: NbSe 3 : Effect of uniaxial stress on the threshold field and fermiology †Phys. Rev. B 57, 14 576 "1998… ‡

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