Phonon characterisation and the theory of the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity of amorphous metals

The dependence of the dynamic and static structure factor and the temperature-dependent part of the electrical resistivity on the spatial correlations of the lattice vibrations is investigated. For this purpose an amplitude correlation function for the lattice vibrations is introduced and expressed in terms of a correlation length. The authors' numerical model calculations show that a negative temperature coefficient of the electrical resistivity is favoured by a short correlation length.