The dynamics and critical phenomena of the depinning transition in charge-density-wave (CDW) systems are explored, primarily through simulations of an automaton model that we have developed to characterize the essential features of the standard Fukuyama-Lee-Rice (FLR) treatment of CDW’s. We first provide an overview of the dynamics of the class of FLR models, and then derive our automaton model. We report results of simulations above and below the depinning transition, focusing primarily on the behavior of the CDW velocity above threshold and the growth of dynamic correlations on both sides of the transition. The critical exponent ζ describing the scaling of the CDW velocity is estimated in d=1, 2, and 3, in agreement with estimates of ζ from simulations of related CDW models and a recent renormalization-group calculation. The velocity-velocity correlation above and below the transition is described in terms of ‘‘avalanches’’ between different configurations. A companion paper examines the unusual finite-size effects evident in the sliding state.

• Received 19 January 1993

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.47.11171