Mechanism of anomalous Hall and Nernst effects in quasi-two-dimensional MnAlGe epitaxial thin films
Phys. Rev. B 113, 184404 – Published 4 May, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/jxgd-ppnk
Abstract
We report a comprehensive experimental and theoretical study of the anomalous Hall and Nernst effects in (001)-oriented epitaxial MnAlGe thin films. First-principles calculations of intrinsic anomalous Hall conductivity originating from Berry curvature predict a large value, , at 0 K and gradual reduction with temperature. Experimentally measured anomalous Hall conductivity is also large value, , at 10 K but exhibits almost three times stronger reduction with temperature than the theoretical prediction. Large positive and negative values of anomalous Nernst conductivity near the Fermi level were predicted at 300 K: at 78 meV and at meV, respectively. Experimentally evaluated anomalous Nernst conductivity shows a significant reduction in magnitude and a sign reversal with increasing temperature, at 75 K to at 300 K, which cannot be explained by giving any chemical potential shift based on present theoretical calculations. These discrepancies suggest that the conventional theoretical approach to calculate and , commonly employed in previous studies, is insufficient to explain the anomalous Hall effect and anomalous Nernst effect observed in MnAlGe. Through examination of various possible origins, our analysis points to thermally induced spin fluctuations, likely amplified by the quasi-two-dimensional structure of MnAlGe, as the most plausible source of unique temperature dependence of and through their influence on either intrinsic or extrinsic contributions. This interpretation is supported by the observation of a pronounced magnon-induced magnetoresistance effect, which directly reveals a much stronger spin-fluctuation impact on transport in MnAlGe compared to conventional three-dimensional ferromagnets.