Accessing quasi-flat $\textit{f}$-bands to harvest large Berry curvature in NdGaSi

Abstract

In typical rare-earth lanthanide compounds, the localized 4\textit{f}-electrons have a weak effect on the electrical conduction, limiting their influence on the Berry curvature and, hence, the intrinsic anomalous Hall effect. A comprehensive study of the magnetic, thermodynamic, and transport properties of single-crystalline NdGaSi, guided by first-principles calculations, reveals a ferromagnetic ground state that induces a splitting of quasi-flat 4\textit{f} electronic bands and positions them near the Fermi energy. The observation of an extraordinarily large intrinsic anomalous Hall conductivity of 1165 $\Omega^{-1}$ cm$^{-1}$ implies the direct involvement of localized states in the generation of non-trivial band crossings around the Fermi energy. The angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements provide direct evidence of non-trivial crossing of the 4\textit{f}-bands with dispersive bands. These results are remarkable when compared to ferrimagnetic NdAlSi, which differs only in a non-magnetic atom (a change in the principal quantum number \textit{n} of the outer \textit{p }orbital) with the same number of valence electrons and does not exhibit any measurable anomalous Hall conductivity.