Topological Hall Effect in PrSb$_2$

Abstract

PrSb$_2$ exhibits a charge-density wave (CDW) transition at $T_\mathrm{CDW} = 100$ K and antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering at $T_\mathrm{N} = 5$ K at ambient pressure. Hall resistivity measurements revealed an anomalous feature within the AFM state, which was attributed to the topological Hall effect (THE), ruling out contributions from the ordinary and anomalous Hall effects. Significantly, the THE anomaly diminished with increasing pressure and almost vanished as the CDW transition was suppressed near the critical pressure $P_c$ = 1.0 GPa. These findings suggest a relationship between the CDW order and the appearance of the THE in PrSb$_2$.

Figures (4)

• Figure 1: (Color online) Magnetic field dependence of the specific heat $C$ in PrSb$_2$.
• Figure 2: (Color online) Phase diagram of PrSb$_2$ at ambient pressure determined from the specific heat $C$ (square), magnetization $M$ (circle), and resistivity $\rho_{xx}$ (diamond). The color background corresponds to the magnitude of $\rho_{yx}^\mathrm{T}$.
• Figure 3: (Color online) Magnetic field dependence of various properties in PrSb$_2$ with the magnetic field applied along the [110] direction. All data were acquired during a field-increasing sweep. (a) Magnetization ($M$) at various temperatures and its field derivative ($dM/dH$) at 2 K. (b) Normalized magnetoresistance ($\Delta\rho_{xx}/\rho_{xx}(0)$) at various temperatures and its field derivative ($d\rho_{xx}/dH$) at 2 K. (c) The product $\rho_{xx}^2 M$ (d, e) Hall resistivity ($\rho_{yx}$) at various temperatures. For clarity, the curves in panel (e) are vertically offset, except for the 2.0 K. The dashed curves in panel (e) are the fits to the expression $\rho_{yx}^0+S_A\rho^2M$, while the solid curves are the calculated OHE contributions (see text for details).
• Figure 4: (Color online) Pressure effects on the transport properties and the phase diagram of PrSb$_2$. (a) Temperature dependence of the Hall coefficient. (b) Low-temperature resistivity. (c) Temperature-pressure phase diagram, with data from Hall effect and resistivity measurements shown as circles and triangles, respectively. (d) Magnetic field dependence of the Hall resistivity $\rho_{yx}$ at 2.5 K under various pressures. The solid and open circles represent data acquired during field-increasing and field-decreasing sweeps, respectively. For clarity, all data except at 1.0 GPa have been successively shifted vertically. The black solid curve is the estimated OHE contribution from the $\rho_{yx}$ data at 1.0 GPa. The thick and thin arrows indicate the critical fields $H_1$ and $H_2$ determined from the $\rho_{xx}$, respectively. $H_1$ exhibits hysteresis, with the lower- and higher-field arrows corresponding to the field-decreasing and field-increasing sweeps, respectively.