# Resistivity near a nematic quantum critical point: Impact of acoustic phonons

## TL;DR

This paper investigates how coupling between electronic nematic order and acoustic phonons influences resistivity near a nematic quantum critical point, revealing a transition from non-Fermi liquid to Fermi liquid behavior due to nemato-elastic effects.

## Contribution

It demonstrates that nemato-elastic coupling modifies resistivity behavior, leading to a $T^2$ dependence at low temperatures and a temperature-dependent resistivity exponent, contrasting with lattice-free predictions.

## Key findings

- Resistivity shows $T^2$ behavior below a certain temperature scale.
- The resistivity exponent $eta(T)$ varies with temperature, not constant.
- Nematic phonon coupling smooths the electronic distribution function.

## Abstract

We revisit the issue of the resistivity of a two-dimensional electronic system tuned to a nematic quantum critical point (QCP), focusing on the non-trivial impact of the coupling to the acoustic phonons. Due to the unavoidable linear coupling between the electronic nematic order parameter and the lattice strain fields, long-range nematic interactions mediated by the phonons emerge in the problem. By solving the semi-classical Boltzmann equation in the presence of scattering by impurities and nematic fluctuations, we determine the temperature-dependence of the resistivity as the nematic QCP is approached. One of the main effects of the nemato-elastic coupling is to smooth the electronic non-equilibrium distribution function, making it approach the simple cosine angular dependence even when the impurity scattering is not too strong. We find that at temperatures lower than a temperature scale set by the nemato-elastic coupling, the resistivity shows the $T^2$ behavior characteristic of a Fermi liquid. This is in contrast to the $T^{4/3}$ low-temperature behavior expected for a lattice-free nematic quantum critical point. More importantly, we show that the effective resistivity exponent $\alpha_\text{eff}(T)$ in $\rho(T)-\rho_0\sim T^{\alpha_\text{eff}(T)}$ displays a pronounced temperature dependence, implying that a nematic QCP cannot generally be characterized by a simple resistivity exponent. We discuss the implications of our results to the interpretation of experimental data, particularly in the nematic superconductor FeSe$_{1-x}$S$_x$.