Impact of Thermal Effects on the Current-Tunable Electrical Transport in the Ferrimagnetic Semiconductor Mn$_3$Si$_2$Te$_6$

Abstract

In the ferrimagnetic semiconductor Mn$_3$Si$_2$Te$_6$, a colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) is observed only when a magnetic field is applied along the magnetic hard axis ($\mathbf{H}\parallel c$). This phenomenon suggests an unconventional CMR mechanism potentially driven by the interplay between magnetism, topological band structure, and/or chiral orbital currents (COC). By comparing electrical resistance measurements using continuous direct currents and pulse currents, we found that the current-induced insulator-metal transition, supporting the COC-driven CMR mechanism, is likely a consequence of Joule heating effects. First-principles calculations reveal a pronounced band gap reduction upon tilting the magnetic moments toward the $c$-axis, accompanied by increased carrier concentration and Fermi velocity. Combining spin orientation-dependent electronic structure with Boltzmann transport theory, the calculated electrical resistance closely reproduces the CMR observed experimentally. These findings suggest that the CMR in Mn$_3$Si$_2$Te$_6$ stems primarily from band gap reduction induced by partial polarization of magnetic moments along the magnetic hard axis.