We report a comprehensive investigation of CeGaSi single crystals, including magnetic, thermodynamic, electronic, and magnetotransport properties. The powder x-ray diffraction refinement reveals that CeGaSi crystallizes in LaPtSi-type tetragonal structure with space group $I{4}_{1}md$. The electrical resistivity data show a metallic nature with a sharp drop occurring around $T_m\sim$ 11 K, revealing a magnetic phase transition, which is confirmed by magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity data. The magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, and heat capacity data are analyzed through the crystalline electric field based on the point charge model, suggesting that the six degenerate ground states of ${\mathrm{Ce}}^{3+}$ ($J=5/2$) ions split into three doublets with an overall splitting energy $\sim 288$ K. The maximum negative magnetoresistance in CeGaSi for both $B\parallel c$ and $B\parallel ab$ field directions is observed near $T_m$, attributed to the suppression of spin-disorder scattering by the magnetic field. The Hall resistivity data for $B\parallel c$ and $B\parallel ab$ show anomalous Hall signal. Our scaling analysis suggests that anomalous Hall effect in CeGaSi is dominated by the skew scattering mechanism. In addition, first-principles calculations identify CeGaSi as a nodal-line metal.

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• Anomalous Hall effect
• Crystal-field excitations
• First-principles calculations
• Magnetic anisotropy
• Magnetic susceptibility
• Topological materials
• Single crystal materials
• Crystal growth
• Density functional theory
• Energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy
• Resistivity measurements
• X-ray diffraction