Electron-phonon scattering (source code)

= Electron-phonon scattering

In <electron-phonon scattering>, an <Electron> changes its energy by $\pm\hbar\omega_{\mathbf q}$ while its <crystal momentum> changes by a phonon wavevector modulo a <reciprocal lattice> vector. Charge-transport relaxation weights a scattering angle $\theta$ by $1-\cos\theta$. Small-angle events can therefore relax heat efficiently while relaxing electrical current weakly. At temperatures above the phonon excitation scale, scattering becomes approximately elastic in the electron thermal shell; residual elastic disorder often dominates at very low temperature.