Scattering mechanisms and electrical transport near an Ising nematic quantum critical point

Abstract

Electrical transport properties near an electronic Ising-nematic quantum critical point in two dimensions are of both theoretical and experimental interest. In this work, we derive a kinetic equation valid in a broad regime near the quantum critical point using the memory matrix approach. The formalism is applied to study the effect of the critical fluctuations on the dc resistivity through different scattering mechanisms, including umklapp, impurity scattering, and electron-hole scattering in a compensated metal. We show that electrical transport in the quantum critical regime exhibits a rich behavior that depends sensitively on the scattering mechanism and the band structure. In the case of a single large Fermi surface, the resistivity due to umklapp scattering crosses over from $\rho\sim T^2$ at low temperature to sublinear at high temperature. The crossover temperature scales as $q_0^3$, where $q_0$ is the minimal wavevector for umklapp scattering. Impurity scattering leads to $\rho-\rho_0\sim T^\alpha$ ($\rho_0$ being the residual resistivity), where $\alpha$ is either larger than 2 if there is only a single Fermi sheet present, or 4/3 in the case of multiple Fermi sheets. Finally, in a perfectly compensated metal with an equal density of electrons and holes, the low temperature behavior depends strongly on the structure of "cold spots" on the Fermi surface, where the coupling between the quasiparticles and order parameter fluctuations vanishes by symmetry. In particular, for a system where cold spots are present on some (but not all) Fermi sheets, $\rho\sim T^{5/3}$. At higher temperatures there is a broad crossover regime where $\rho$ either saturates or $\rho\sim T$, depending on microscopic details. We discuss these results in the context of recent quantum Monte Carlo simulations of a metallic Ising nematic critical point, and experiments in certain iron-based superconductors.