Wave-vector-dependent electron-phonon coupling and the charge-density-wave transition in TbTe3

We present a high-energy-resolution inelastic x-ray scattering investigation of the soft phonon mode in the charge-density-wave (CDW) system TbTe3. We analyze our data based on lattice dynamical calculations using density-functional-perturbation theory and find clear evidence that strongly momentum-dependent electron-phonon coupling defines the periodicity of the CDW superstructure: Our experiment reveals strong phonon softening and increased phonon linewidths over a large part in reciprocal space adjacent to the CDW ordering vector q(CDW) = (0,0,0.3). Further, q(CDW) is clearly offset from the wave vector of (weak) Fermi surface nesting q(FS) = (0,0,0.25), and our detailed analysis indicates that electron-phonon coupling is responsible for this shift. Hence, we can add TbTe3, which was previously considered as a canonical CDW compound following the Peierls scenario, to the list of distinct charge-density-wave materials characterized by momentum-dependent electron-phonon coupling.