Evidence of magnetic fluctuation induced Weyl semimetal state in the antiferromagnetic topological insulator Mn(Bi1−xSbx)2Te4

Abstract

We report $c$-axis transport studies on magnetic topological insulators $\mathrm{Mn}{({\mathrm{Bi}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Sb}}_{x})}_{2}{\mathrm{Te}}_{4}$. We performed systematic $c$-axis magnetoresistivity measurements under high magnetic fields (up to 35 T) on several representative samples. We find that the lightly hole- and lightly electron-doped samples, while both having the same order of magnitude of carrier density and similar spin-flop transitions, exhibit sharp contrast in electronic anisotropy and transport mechanism. The electronic anisotropy is remarkably enhanced for the lightly hole-doped sample relative to pristine $\mathrm{Mn}{\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Te}}_{4}$ but not for the lightly electron-doped sample. The lightly electron-doped sample displays a giant negative longitudinal magnetoresistivity (LMR) induced by the spin-valve effect at the spin-flop transition field, whereas the lightly hole-doped sample exhibits remarkable negative LMR consistent with the chiral anomaly behavior of a Weyl semimetal. Furthermore, we find the large negative LMR of the lightly hole-doped sample extends to a wide temperature range above the N\'eel temperature $({T}_{\mathrm{N}})$ where the magnetoconductivity is proportional to ${B}^{2}$. This fact, together with the short-range intralayer ferromagnetic correlation revealed in isothermal magnetization measurements, suggests the possible presence of the Weyl state above ${T}_{\mathrm{N}}$. These results demonstrate that in the $c$-axis magnetotransport of $\mathrm{Mn}{({\mathrm{Bi}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Sb}}_{x})}_{2}{\mathrm{Te}}_{4}$, the spin scattering is dominant in the lightly electron-doped sample but overwhelmed by the chiral anomaly effect in the lightly hole-doped sample due to the presence of the Weyl state. These findings extend the understanding of the transport properties of $\mathrm{Mn}{({\mathrm{Bi}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Sb}}_{x})}_{2}{\mathrm{Te}}_{4}$.