Scattering rate, transport and specific heat in a metal close to a quantum critical point : emergence of a robust Fermi liquid picture ?

TL;DR

This paper investigates how a weakly disordered metal near a quantum critical point exhibits Fermi-liquid behavior in scattering rate and specific heat, with divergences in prefactors as the critical point is approached, relevant for certain heavy fermion compounds.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical calculation of low-temperature scattering rate and specific heat near a quantum critical point, highlighting conditions for Fermi-liquid behavior and the independence of the Kadowaki-Woods ratio.

Findings

Fermi-liquid T^2 scattering rate and linear specific heat with diverging prefactors

Kadowaki-Woods ratio is constant only for 3-D ferromagnetic fluctuations

Results are relevant for experiments on CeCoIn5 and Sr3Ru2O7

Abstract

We calculate the low temperature one-particle scattering rate and the specific heat in a weakly disordered metal close to a quantum critical point. To lowest order in the fluctuation potential, we obtain typical Fermi-liquid results proportional to T^2 and T respectively, with prefactors which diverge as a power law of the control parameter upon approaching the critical point. The Kadowaki-Woods ratio is shown to be independent of the control parameter only for the case of 3-D FM fluctuations. Our work is relevant for experiments on CeCoIn$_5$ and Sr_3Ru_2O_7.