Transport Theory in Metals

Abstract

<p> The theoretical formulation of the electronic transport properties (in the absence of a magnetic field) of pure single crystals of simple metals is extended to incorporate the effect of a non~spherical Fermi surface, using a multiple orthogonalized plane wave description of the conduction electrons. Two approaches are considered, one using a variational principle, and the other employing a scattering time approximation. </p> <p> Formal results for the electrical resistivity and the electronic contribution to the thermal resistivity are expressed in terms of effective phonon frequency distributions. These distributions are particularly convenient for numerical computations and are generalization: of those previously used for the case of a spherical Fermi surface. </p> <p> The generalization of the scattering time method to dilute nonmagnetic substitutional alloys is applied to hexagonal close~packed metalsc It is shown that the addition of small amounts of impurities to pure Zn leads to measurable changes in the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity ratio (see text for ratio with symbols). The corresponding deviations front Matthiessen's rule for polycrystalline samples are also calculated. </p>