Angular studies of the magnetoresistance in the density wave state of the quasi-two-dimensional purple bronze KMo<Subscript>6</Subscript>O<Subscript>17</Subscript>

The purple molybdenum bronze KMo<Subscript>6</Subscript>O<Subscript>17</Subscript> is a quasi-two-dimensional compound which shows a Peierls transition towards a commensurate metallic charge density wave (CDW) state. High magnetic field measurements have revealed several transitions at low temperature and have provided an unusual phase diagram “temperature-magnetic field”. Angular studies of the interlayer magnetoresistance are now reported. The results suggest that the orbital coupling of the magnetic field to the CDW is the most likely mechanism for the field induced transitions. The angular dependence of the magnetoresistance is discussed on the basis of a warped quasi-cylindrical Fermi surface and provides information on the geometry of the Fermi surface in the low temperature density wave state. Copyright EDP Sciences/Società Italiana di Fisica/Springer-Verlag 2007