Thermal hysteresis in the charge-density-wave transition of Lu₅Rh₄Si₁₀

We report the detailed studies of resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity, thermal conductivity, and thermoelectric power on the charge-density-wave (CDW) material Lu₅Rh₄Si₁₀ in the vicinity of its transition temperature T₀ ∼ 147 K. Pronounced thermal hystereses loops between heating and cooling cycles have been observed in all measured quantities, making this system very unique as compared to other isostructural compounds such as Lu₅Ir₄Si₁₀. The thermal hysteresis features in Lu₅Rh₄Si₁₀ are attributed to the presence of metastable states arising from pinning of the CDW phase to impurities. In addition, the measured physical quantities are magnetic field independent up to 8 T, which excludes the possibility of a magnetic coupling to the static CDW structure in Lu₅Rh₄Si₁₀.