Similarity of Scattering Rates in Metals Showing T-Linear Resistivity

Many exotic compounds, such as cuprate superconductors and heavy fermion materials, exhibit a linear in temperature (T) resistivity, the origin of which is not well understood. We found that the resistivity of the quantum critical metal Sr3Ru2O7 is also T-linear at the critical magnetic field of 7.9 T. Using the precise existing data for the Fermi surface topography and quasiparticle velocities of Sr3Ru2O7, we show that in the region of the T-linear resistivity, the scattering rate per kelvin is well approximated by the ratio of the Boltzmann constant to the Planck constant divided by 2 pi. Extending the analysis to a number of other materials reveals similar results in the T-linear region, in spite of large differences in the microscopic origins of the scattering.