Excess low-temperature specific heat inK0.3MoO3

The thermal conductivity and specific heat of the charge-density-wave compound ${\mathrm{K}}_{0.3}$Mo${\mathrm{O}}_3$ have been measured between 0.1 and 1 K. The thermal conductivity is typical of a good crystal, while the specific-heat measurements show an excess contribution which is linear in temperature and corresponds to approximately 2×${10}^{20}$ states/eV ${\mathrm{cm}}^3$. This excess specific heat indicates significant randomness, in spite of good stoichiometry and crystal quality. We speculate that the phase distortions of the randomly pinned charge-density wave are responsible for the excess low-lying excitations.