Response of a purely dissipative incommensurate chain to large driving pulses

Systems which obey purely dissipative equations of motion can exhibit behavior normally associated with inductive (i.e., inertial) response. An experimentally well-studied example is the transient current oscillations that can occur when a voltage pulse is applied to a sliding charge-density wave. Detailed numerical studies of the nonlinear response of a purely dissipative harmonic chain in a sinusoidal potential are presented in order to understand the effects on the transient current of strong pinning potentials and of sudden large changes in the driving field. The results are compared to the experimental results for the charge-density-wave systems Ksub0.3${\mathrm{MoO}}_3$, ${\mathrm{NbSe}}_3$, and ${\mathrm{TaS}}_3$.