Crystal symmetry based selection rules for anharmonic phonon-phonon scattering from a group theory formalism

Anharmonic phonon-phonon scattering serves a critical role in heat conduction in solids. Previous studies have identified many selection rules for possible phonon-phonon scattering channels imposed by phonon energy and momentum conservation conditions and crystal symmetry. However, the crystal-symmetry-based selection rules have mostly been ad hoc so far in selected materials, and a general formalism that can summarize known selection rules and lead to new ones in any given crystal is still lacking. In this work, we apply a general formalism for symmetry-based scattering selection rules based on the group theory to anharmonic phonon-phonon scatterings, which can reproduce known selection rules and guide the discovery of new selection rules between phonon branches imposed by the crystal symmetry. We apply this formalism to analyze the phonon-phonon scattering selection rules imposed by the in-plane symmetry of graphene, and demonstrate the significant impact of symmetry-breaking strain on the lattice thermal conductivity. Our work quantifies the critical influence of the crystal symmetry on the lattice thermal conductivity in solids and suggests routes to engineer heat conduction by tuning the crystal symmetry.