We obtain a rigorous upper bound on the resistivity [Formula: see text] of an electron fluid whose electronic mean free path is short compared with the scale of spatial inhomogeneities. When such a hydrodynamic electron fluid supports a nonthermal diffusion process-such as an imbalance mode between different bands-we show that the resistivity bound becomes [Formula: see text] The coefficient [Formula: see text] is independent of temperature and inhomogeneity lengthscale, and [Formula: see text] is a microscopic momentum-preserving scattering rate. In this way, we obtain a unified mechanism-without umklapp-for [Formula: see text] in a Fermi liquid and the crossover to [Formula: see text] in quantum critical regimes. This behavior is widely observed in transition metal oxides, organic metals, pnictides, and heavy fermion compounds and has presented a long-standing challenge to transport theory. Our hydrodynamic bound allows phonon contributions to diffusion constants, including thermal diffusion, to directly affect the electrical resistivity.
Keywords: bad metals; hydrodynamics; thermoelectric transport.
Published under the PNAS license.