Dissipation-driven strange metal behavior

TL;DR

This paper proposes a theoretical scenario where quantum critical fluctuations cause anomalous metallic behavior, such as linear resistivity and divergent specific heat, in materials near quantum critical points, extending to very low temperatures.

Contribution

It introduces a phenomenological model linking fluctuation damping to non-Fermi liquid properties in strange metals near quantum criticality.

Findings

Explains linear-in-temperature resistivity in strange metals.

Accounts for divergent specific heat at low temperatures.

Identifies a single parameter controlling fluctuation damping.

Abstract

Anomalous metallic properties are often observed in the proximity of quantum critical points (QCPs), with violation of the Fermi Liquid paradigm. We propose a scenario where, due to the presence of a nearby QCP, dynamical fluctuations of the order parameter with finite correlation length mediate a nearly isotropic scattering among the quasiparticles over the entire Fermi surface. This scattering produces an anomalous metallic behavior, which is extended to the lowest temperatures by an increase of the damping of the fluctuations. We phenomenologically identify one single parameter ruling this increasing damping when the temperature decreases, accounting for both the linear-in-temperature resistivity and the seemingly divergent specific heat observed, e.g., in high-temperature superconducting cuprates and some heavy-fermion metals.