Quantum mechanics

Magnetic field

Magnetization

Nernst equation

Ferromagnetism

Scaling

Band gap

Berry connection and curvature

Physics

Mathematics

Semimetal

Superconductivity

Geometric phase

Condensed matter physics

Geometry

Electrode

Quasiparticle

Nernst effect

Weyl semimetal

Nature Physics

In metallic ferromagnets, the Berry curvature of underlying quasiparticles can cause an electric voltage perpendicular to both magnetization and an applied temperature gradient, a phenomenon called the anomalous Nernst effect (ANE). Here, we report the observation of a giant ANE in the full-Heusler ferromagnet Co$_2$MnGa, reaching $S_{yx}\sim -6$ $μ$V/K at room $T$, one order of magnitude larger than the maximum value reported for a magnetic conductor. With increasing temperature, the transverse thermoelectric conductivity or Peltier coefficient $α_{yx}$ shows a crossover between $T$-linear and $-T \log(T)$ behaviors, indicating the violation of Mott formula at high temperatures. Our numerical and analytical calculations indicate that the proximity to a quantum Lifshitz transition between type-I and type-II magnetic Weyl fermions is responsible for the observed crossover properties and an enhanced $α_{yx}$. The $T$ dependence of $α_{yx}$ in experiments and numerical calculations can be understood in terms of a quantum critical scaling function predicted by the low energy effective theory over more than a decade of temperatures. Moreover, the observation of chiral anomaly or an unsaturated positive longitudinal magnetoconductance also provide evidence for the existence of Weyl fermions in Co$_2$MnGa.

Giant anomalous Nernst effect and quantum-critical scaling in a ferromagnetic semimetal