Effects of Lifshitz transition on charge transport in magnetic phases of Fe-based superconductors

The unusual temperature dependence of the resistivity and its in-plane anisotropy observed in the Fe-based superconducting materials, particularly Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2, has been a long-standing puzzle. Here, we consider the effect of impurity scattering on the temperature dependence of the average resistivity within a simple two-band model of a dirty spin density wave metal. The sharp drop in resistivity below the Néel temperature TN in the parent compound can only be understood in terms of a Lifshitz transition following Fermi surface reconstruction upon magnetic ordering. We show that the observed resistivity anisotropy in this phase, arising from nematic defect structures, is affected by the Lifshitz transition as well.