Influence of higher order electron-phonon interaction terms on the thermal properties of 2D Dirac crystals

To understand the essential properties of Dirac crystals, such as their thermal conductivity, we require models that consider the interaction between Dirac electrons and dispersive acoustic phonons. The exceptionally high thermal conductivity in 2D Dirac crystals is attributed to near-ideal phonon quantum gases, while undesired limitations arise from electron-phonon (e-ph) interactions which have been shown to limit the thermal conductivity up to several microns away. The e-ph thermal conductivity is directly linked to the phonon scattering rate. Conventional calculations overlook phonons with short-dispersive wavelengths, rendering them inadequate for analyzing 2D Dirac crystals. The phonon scattering rate is typically calculated up to the first-order magnitude, considering 3-particle interactions involving the decay of an electron and phonon (EP-E*) to create a new electron. However, processes involving the decay of an electron and the creation of a new electron and phonon (E-E*P*) are neglected. In this study, we present an accurate expression for the phonon scattering rate and e-ph thermal conductivity in 2D Dirac crystals, accounting for short-dispersive wavelength phonons. We demonstrate the significance of the E-E*P* process even at room temperature in calculating the phonon scattering rate and e-ph thermal conductivity, particularly for first-order e-ph interactions. Furthermore, we emphasize the importance of incorporating second-order e-ph interactions, specifically the EP-E*P* interaction involving the decay of an electron and phonon and the creation of a new electron-phonon pair, to accurately determine the phonon scattering rate and e-ph thermal conductivity at high temperatures and low Fermi energies. This 4-particle interaction process plays a crucial role in characterizing these properties effectively.