In the natural chalcopyrite mineral ${\mathrm{Cu}}_{1+x}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{1-x}{\mathrm{S}}_2$ ($x=0.08$), a huge Seebeck effect was reported around room temperature [Ang et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 54, 12909 (2015)]. In this paper, we suggest that the observed huge Seebeck coefficient is due to antiferromagnetic magnon drag collaborated with an impurity band. First, we show that the temperature dependences of the electrical resistivity and Hall coefficient are in good agreement with the theoretical results based on the self-consistent $t$-matrix approximation, considering the impurity band. Secondly, by deducing the lifetime of the magnon from the experimental result of the thermal conductivity, we evaluate the Seebeck coefficient due to antiferromagnetic magnon drag collaborating with the impurity band by the linear response theory based on the Kubo-Luttinger formalism. Finally, we find that the obtained theoretical result is quantitatively consistent with the experimental one near room temperature.

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• Magnons
• Seebeck effect
• Thermal conductivity
• Thermoelectric effects