Departure from the Wiedemann–Franz law in WP2 driven by mismatch in T-square resistivity prefactors

Abstract

The Wiedemann–Franz law establishes a link between heat and charge transport due to electrons in solids. The extent of its validity in the presence of inelastic scattering is a question raised in different contexts. Here we report on a study of the electrical, σ, and thermal, κ, conductivities in WP2 single crystals. The Wiedemann-Franz law holds at 2 K, but a downward deviation rapidly emerges upon warming. At 13 K, there is an exceptionally large mismatch between the Lorenz number and the Sommerfeld value. We show that this is driven by a fivefold discrepancy between the T-square prefactors of electrical and thermal resistivities, both caused by electron–electron scattering. This implies the existence of abundant small-scattering-angle collisions between electrons, due to strong screening. By quantifying the relative frequency of collisions conserving momentum flux, but degrading heat flux, we identify a narrow temperature window where the hierarchy of scattering times may correspond to the hydrodynamic regime.