First-principles calculation of the high-temperature thermoelectric power of potassium

A recent fundamental description of the lattice dynamics and electron-phonon interaction in potassium (L Dagens et al., see Phys. Rev., vol.11, p.2726 (1975)) is shown to lead to very good agreement with experiment for both the high-temperature electrical resistivity and thermoelectric power. When the authors allow for the possibility of mixed electron-phonon and electron-electron scattering, the calculated result for the volume derivative of the thermopower supports the suggestion that the effect of normal electron-electron scattering is seen in the measured high-temperature transport properties of potassium.