Scaling of Berry-curvature monopole dominated large linear positive magnetoresistance.

Zhang, Shen; Wang, Yibo; Zeng, Qingqi; Shen, Jianlei; Zheng, Xinqi; Yang, Jinying; Wang, Zhaosheng; Xi, Chuanying et al. · Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · 2022

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The linear positive magnetoresistance (LPMR) is a widely observed phenomenon in topological materials, which is promising for potential applications on topological spintronics. However, its mechanism remains ambiguous yet, and the effect is thus uncontrollable. Here, we report a quantitative scaling model that correlates the LPMR with the Berry curvature, based on a ferromagnetic Weyl semimetal CoS<sub>2</sub> that bears the largest LPMR of over 500% at 2 K and 9 T, among known magnetic topological semimetals. In this system, masses of Weyl nodes existing near the Fermi level, revealed by theoretical calculations, serve as Berry-curvature monopoles and low-effective-mass carriers. Based on the Weyl picture, we propose a relation [Formula: see text], with <i>B</i> being the applied magnetic field and [Formula: see text] the average Berry curvature near the Fermi surface, and further introduce temperature factor to both MR/<i>B</i> slope (MR per unit field) and anomalous Hall conductivity, which establishes the connection between the model and experimental measurements. A clear picture of the linearly slowing down of carriers, i.e., the LPMR effect, is demonstrated under the cooperation of the <i>k</i>-space Berry curvature and real-space magnetic field. Our study not only provides experimental evidence of Berry curvature-induced LPMR but also promotes the common understanding and functional designing of the large Berry-curvature MR in topological Dirac/Weyl systems for magnetic sensing or information storage.