Resistivity bound for hydrodynamic bad metals

Abstract

We obtain a rigorous upper bound on the resistivity $\rho$ of an electron fluid whose electronic mean free path is short compared to the scale of spatial inhomogeneities. When such a hydrodynamic electron fluid supports a non-thermal diffusion process -- such as an imbalance mode between different bands -- we show that the resistivity bound becomes $\rho \lesssim A \, \Gamma$. The coefficient $A$ is independent of temperature and inhomogeneity lengthscale, and $\Gamma$ is a microscopic momentum-preserving scattering rate. In this way we obtain a unified and novel mechanism -- without umklapp -- for $\rho \sim T^2$ in a Fermi liquid and the crossover to $\rho \sim T$ in quantum critical regimes. This behavior is widely observed in transition metal oxides, organic metals, pnictides and heavy fermion compounds and has presented a longstanding challenge to transport theory. Our hydrodynamic bound allows phonon contributions to diffusion constants, including thermal diffusion, to directly affect the electrical resistivity.