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Anharmonic dephasing in the electron-phonon interaction

Mingran Kong and Bartomeu Monserrat

  • Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, 27 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge CB3 0FS, United Kingdom

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Phys. Rev. B 114, 084303 – Published 7 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/1jf8-sx2w

Abstract

Electron-phonon coupling has been a central topic in condensed matter physics for decades, and first-principles methods have demonstrated remarkable success in quantitatively capturing its role in a wide variety of physical phenomena and materials. Conventional calculations of electron-phonon coupling typically assume that phonons have infinite lifetimes, but phonons can exhibit finite lifetimes due to anharmonic phonon-phonon interactions. In this work, we derive an expression for the electron-phonon coupling scattering rates including the effects of anharmonic three-phonon interactions, which lead to phonon dephasing and finite phonon lifetimes. We also describe a first-principles implementation of this anharmonic electron-phonon coupling which can be seamlessly integrated within existing workflows for the evaluation of electron-phonon and phonon-phonon coupling interactions. Finally, we present calculations of electron-phonon scattering rates including phonon dephasing in a range of materials, and discuss the different microscopic mechanisms by which anharmonic phonons influence electron-phonon coupling. This study establishes the importance of finite phonon lifetimes in the evaluation of electron-phonon coupling, and provides a platform to explore these effects in a wide range of materials and phenomena.

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Electronic conductivity in anharmonic crystals: Phonon dephasing in the electron-phonon interaction

Mingran Kong and Bartomeu Monserrat
Phys. Rev. B 114, L080304 (2026)

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Phys. Rev. B 114, 084303– Published 7 August, 2026
  • Received 9 July 2025
  • Accepted 20 May 2026
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