A study of the low-temperature resistivity of normal metals
Abstract
We have shown that the vertex correction caused by electron-phonon interactions is not negligible in electron transport theory and, therefore, electrical resistivity does not remain unchanged by the many-body effects of electron-phonon interaction. A new term, proportional to T$\sp2$ln($\Theta$/T), appears in the low-temperature resistivity as a consequence of electron-phonon interactions, and this term appears to explain the behavior found in the resistivity of K(Rb) alloys. It also offers an explanation of the sample dependence in the measurements of the T$\sp2$-term in the resistivity of deformed potassium crystals; and there is a good possibility that it is the origin of the "universal transition" noticed by Gurvitch in the resistivity of strongly coupled metals. To completely solve the sample dependence problem in potassium, we also suggest that the resistivity depends on the $\rm\vec Q$-domain distribution of the charge density wave structure, which can be altered by plastic deformation. We have applied the theory developed for electron-phonon interactions to electron-phason interactions. Such application leads to another new term in the resistivity which is particularly important at temperatures well below 1K. This new term decreases with increasing temperature and causes a resistance minimum at temperatures below 1K. Such behavior has been observed experimentally in potassium.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Overhauser, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Condensation
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