Nonlinear concentration dependence of the low‐temperature thermal resistivity in metals containing impurity atoms

It is shown that the specific interference of elastic scattering of electrons by impurity atoms and inelastic scattering of electrons by phonons, taking into account a real angular and energy dependence of the electron distribution function, results in a strongly nonlinear concentration dependence of the electron part of the thermal resistivity of a metal. The curve showing the temperature dependence of the inelastic part of the impurity thermal resistivity has a peak whose value depends on the concentration c of impurities. Simultaneously the coefficient B in the usual low‐temperature representation of the thermal resistivity, BT 2 , is also found to depend on c . A comparison with the experimental data is made.