Multiband transport hierarchy and large Nernst effect in EuAuBi: Establishing a Nernst scaling for asymmetric multiband systems

Abstract

In correlated materials, coexisting pockets of vastly different carrier densities raise two fundamental questions: which pocket governs the various transport coefficients, and does the conventional Nernst scaling $ν/T \propto μ/E_F$, originally derived for single-band systems, still hold? We address both questions in the polar semimetal EuAuBi, where a dilute electron pocket ($n_e \sim 10^{16}~\mathrm{cm}^{-3}$) coexists with a dense hole pocket ($n_h \sim 10^{21}~\mathrm{cm}^{-3}$). We find a clear hierarchy: the hole pocket dominates the longitudinal resistivity; the Hall effect crosses from electron- to hole-dominance with increasing field; the Seebeck coefficient is dominated by the electron pocket at low temperature and by both pockets at high temperature. Remarkably, the Nernst effect is governed entirely by the ultrahigh-mobility electron pocket, yielding a large low-field signal of $\sim 5~μ\mathrm{V/K}$ near 1~T at 202~K, comparable to anomalous Nernst signals in magnetic Weyl semimetals. By analyzing the two-band thermoelectric conductivity, we show that the Nernst coefficient follows a scaling $ν/T \propto μ_e/{E_{F, tot}}$. This scaling originates from a compensation between the electron-to-hole conductivity ratio and the Fermi-energy ratio, establishing that the large Nernst effect is a semiclassical multiband phenomenon rather than a topological Berry-curvature contribution. This understanding advances the thermoelectric transport physics of multiband electronic systems and offers a guiding principle for low-field transverse thermoelectric design.