Numerical study of quantum oscillations of quasiparticle lifetime: Impurity spectroscopy and electric field and strain effects

Quantum oscillation (QO) measurements constitute one of the most powerful methods for determining the Fermi surface (FS) of metals, exploiting the famous Onsager relation between the FS area and the QO frequency. The recent observation of non-Onsager QOs with a frequency set by the difference of two FS orbits in a bulk three-dimensional metal can be understood as the QO of quasiparticle lifetime (QPL) due to interorbital scattering [N. Huber et al., Nature (London) 621, 276 (2023)]. QPL oscillations (QPLOs) generalize magnetointersubband oscillations known from coupled two-dimensional metals. They may provide a novel tool for extracting otherwise hard-to-measure intraband versus interband scattering times of quasiparticles. Here, we provide a numerical lattice study of QPLOs comparing transport and thermodynamic observables. We explore the effect of different imperfections like general impurities, Hall-effect-induced electric fields, various forms of strain from bending, and magnetic field inhomogeneities. We confirm the basic phenomenology of QPLOs as predicted in analytical calculations and identify additional nonperturbative features. Remarkably, we find that some imperfections can stabilize, or even enhance, non-Onsager QPLOs in contrast to standard QO frequencies. We discuss various avenues for identifying QPLOs in experiments and how to use their dependence on imperfections to extract material properties.