We investigate the charge-order transition at zero temperature in a two-leg
Hubbard ladder with additional nearest-neighbor Coulomb repulsion V using the
Density Matrix Renormalization Group technique. We consider electron densities
between quarter and half filling. For quarter filling and U=8t, we find
evidence for a continuous phase transition between a homogeneous state at small
V and a broken-symmetry state with "checkerboard" [wavevector Q=(pi,pi)] charge
order at large V. This transition to a checkerboard charge-ordered state
remains present at all larger fillings, but becomes discontinuous at
sufficiently large filling. We discuss the influence of U/t on the transition
and estimate the position of the tricritical points.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figs, minor changes, accepted for publication in PRB R