Magnetotransport in a Model of a Disordered Strange Metal

Despite much theoretical effort, there is no complete theory of the "strange" metal state of the high temperature superconductors, and its linear-in-temperature T resistivity. Recent experiments showing an unexpected linear-in-field B magnetoresistivity have deepened the puzzle. We propose a simple model of itinerant electrons, interacting via random couplings, with electrons localized on a lattice of "quantum dots" or "islands." This model is solvable in a particular large-N limit and can reproduce observed behavior. The key feature of our model is that the electrons in each quantum dot are described by a Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model describing electrons without quasiparticle excitations. For a particular choice of the interaction between the itinerant and localized electrons, this model realizes a controlled description of a diffusive marginal-Fermi liquid (MFL) without momentum conservation, which has a linear-in-T resistivity and a T ln T specific heat as T -> 0. By tuning the strength of this interaction relative to the bandwidth of the itinerant electrons, we can additionally obtain a finite-T crossover to a fully incoherent regime that also has a linear-in-T resistivity. We describe the magnetotransport properties of this model and show that the MFL regime has conductivities that scale as a function of B/T; however, the magnetoresistance saturates at large B. We then consider a macroscopically disordered sample with domains of such MFLs with varying densities of electrons and islands. Using an effective-medium approximation, we obtain a macroscopic electrical resistance that scales linearly in the magnetic field B applied perpendicular to the plane of the sample, at large B. The resistance also scales linearly in Tat small B, and as Tf (B/T) at intermediate B. We consider implications for recent experiments reporting linear transverse magnetoresistance in the strange metal phases of the pnictides and cuprates.