Heat-bath approach to anomalous thermal transport: effects of inelastic scattering

Abstract

We present results for the entire set of anomalous charge and heat transport coefficients for metallic systems in the presence of a finite-temperature heat bath. In realistic physical systems this necessitates the inclusion of inelastic dissipation mechanisms; relatively little is known theoretically about their effects on anomalous transport. Here we demonstrate how these dissipative processes are strongly intertwined with Berry-curvature physics. Our calculations are made possible by the introduction of a Caldeira-Leggett reservoir which allows us to avoid the sometimes-problematic device of the pseudogravitational potential. Using our formulas, we focus on the finite-temperature behavior of the important anomalous Wiedemann-Franz ratio. Despite previous expectations, this ratio is found to be non-universal as it can exhibit either an upturn or a downturn as temperature increases away from zero. We emphasize that this derives from a \textit{competition} between Berry curvatures having different signs in different regions of the Brillouin zone. We point to experimental support for these observations and for the behavior of an alternative ratio involving a thermoelectric response which, by contrast, appears to be more universal at low temperatures. Our work paves the way for future theory and experiment, demonstrating how inelastic scattering at non-zero temperature affects the behavior of all anomalous transport coefficients.