Physical properties of quasi-one-dimensional SrNbO3.41 and Luttinger liquid analysis of electrical transport

We report the diagonal components of the electrical resistivity tensor of quasi-one-dimensional SrNbO3.41, determined using the Montgomery method. The results confirm quasi-one-dimensional behavior but show a smaller anisotropy than previously reported. High-resolution linear thermal expansion reveals weakly anisotropic behavior and no evidence of charge-density wave formation, which has been suspected as the cause of the upturn in the electrical resistivity rho near 50 K. Heat-capacity measurements reveal an electronic heat-capacity coefficient that is near zero with a Debye temperature Theta(D)=382(1) K. We report that rho exhibits power-law behavior, as expected within the framework of Luttinger liquid theory for quasi-one-dimensional systems. Detailed analysis of the data above 100 K implies relatively strong correlations and the possibility of a gap in the spin-excitation spectrum. The origin of the small energy gap below 50 K and the conduction mechanism in this region remain as outstanding issues.