Planckian scattering and parallel conduction channels in the iron chalcogenide superconductors FeTe1-xSex | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Planckian scattering and parallel conduction channels in the iron chalcogenide superconductors FeTe 1-x Se x Ralph Romero III, Hee Taek Yi, Seongshik Oh, N. Peter Armitage This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6649895/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 23 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Physics → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The remarkable linear in temperature resistivity of the cuprate superconductors, which extends in some samples from T c to the melting temperature, remains unexplained. Although seemingly simple, this temperature dependence is incompatible with the conventional theory of metals that dictates that the scattering rate, 1/τ, should be quadratic in temperature if electron-electron scattering dominates. Understanding the origin of this temperature dependence and its connection to superconductivity may provide the key to pick the lock of high-temperature superconductivity. Using time-domain terahertz spectroscopy (TDTS) we elucidate the low temperature conducting behavior of two FeTe 1-x Se x (FTS) samples, one with almost equal amounts of Se and Te that is believed to be a topological superconductor, and one that is more overdoped. Constrained with DC resistivity, we find two conduction channels that add in parallel, a broad one in frequency with weak temperature dependence and a sharper one whose scattering rate goes as the Planckian limited rate, ~kT/h. Through analysis of its spectral weight we show the superconducting condensate is mainly drawn from the channel that undergoes this Planckian scattering. Physical sciences/Physics/Condensed-matter physics/Superconducting properties and materials Physical sciences/Materials science/Condensed-matter physics/Superconducting properties and materials Physical sciences/Physics/Optical physics/Terahertz optics Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 23 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Physics → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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