| Summary: | The strange metal behavior, usually characterized by a linear-in-temperature (<i>T</i>) resistivity, is a still unsolved mystery in solid-state physics. It is often associated with the proximity to a quantum critical point (a second order transition at temperature <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi>T</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>0</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, leading to a broken symmetry phase) focusing on the related divergent order parameter correlation length. Here, we propose a paradigmatic shift, focusing on a divergent characteristic time scale due to a divergent dissipation acting on the fluctuating critical modes while their correlation length stays finite. To achieve a divergent dissipation, we propose a mechanism based on the coupling between a local order parameter fluctuation and electron density diffusive modes that accounts both for the linear-in-<i>T</i> resistivity and for the logarithmic specific heat versus temperature ratio <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mi>C</mi><mi>V</mi></msub><mo>/</mo><mi>T</mi><mo>∼</mo><mo form="prefix">log</mo><mrow><mo>(</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>/</mo><mi>T</mi><mo>)</mo></mrow></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, down to low temperatures.
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