Electron quantum transport in disordered systems has attracted great interest because of its fundamental importance in condensed matter physics. Although the incipient Anderson localization related to electron-phonon scattering or electron-electron interactions has been reported in several nonmagnets and ferromagnets, it has not been reported in antiferromagnets so far, and the role of electron-magnon scattering remains elusive. In this work, we report the observation of incipient Anderson localization and dimensional crossover in antiferromagnetic $\gamma$-FeMn films. Temperature ($T$)-dependent conductivity ($\sigma$) exhibits an additional linear-$T$ contribution below 30 K, attributed to the two-dimensional (2D) spin-wave mediated electron-electron interactions in antiferromagnets. At higher temperatures (40–160 K), the conductivity $\sigma \propto b{T}^{1/3}$, with coefficient $b$ scaling with disorder strength $k_F{l}_0$ and the exchange interaction $J$, is consistent with the 3D incipient Anderson localization theories in the presence of dominant electron-magnon scattering. Moreover, the electron-magnon scattering time ${\tau }_{\mathrm{in}}$ was estimated based on the 2D to 3D dimensional crossover observed at about 40 K, which is consistent with theoretical results using the formula predicted by Muttalib et al. [Phys. Rev. B 91, 144410 (2015)]. Our work elucidates the critical role of electron-magnon interactions in modulating the incipient Anderson localization and thus influencing the quantum transport properties of disordered magnetic materials.

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• Anderson localization
• Electrical conductivity
• Magnons
• Quantum interference effects
• Antiferromagnets
• Disordered systems
• Resistivity measurements