Colossal Magnetoresistance and Unusual Resistivity Behaviors in Magnetic Semiconductors: Mn3Si2Te6 as a Case Study

Colossal Magnetoresistance and Unusual Resistivity Behaviors in Magnetic Semiconductors: Mn3Si2Te6 as a Case Study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Colossal Magnetoresistance and Unusual Resistivity Behaviors in Magnetic Semiconductors: Mn 3 Si 2 Te 6 as a Case Study Zhihao Liu, Zhong Fang, Hongming Weng, Quansheng Wu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7207862/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in npj Computational Materials → Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) is typically observed in manganites and magnetic semiconductors, marked by a resistivity peak near the magnetic transition temperature that is significantly suppressed by an applied magnetic field, commonly referred as peak-type CMR. This type of CMR has attracted extensive research efforts over the past decades. However, in some materials such as Mn3Si2Te6, both peak‑type and upturn‑type CMR coexist---the latter characterized by a sharp resistivity upturn at low temperatures that is also strongly suppressed by an external field. Research on the coexistence of these two types of CMR remains relatively unexplored. In our work, we propose a theoretical framework to unravel the mechanisms underlying the above mentioned CMR phenomenon in magnetic semiconductors, and apply it to the ferrimagnetic semiconductor Mn3Si2Te6. The experimentally observed $\rho(B, T)$ behaviors are accurately reproduced, including the upturn-type CMR, peak-type CMR, and movement of $T_c$ (or resistivity peak) with fields. Additionally, the suppression of $T_c$ and resistivity with increasing direct currents, previously attributed to current control of the chiral orbital current (COC) state, is also reproduced within our framework by properly accounting for the Joule heating effects. Our work provides a new perspective for quantitatively calculating and analyzing the unusual resistivity responses to temperature, field and current in magnetic semiconductors. Physical sciences/Materials science Physical sciences/Nanoscience and technology Physical sciences/Physics Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in npj Computational Materials → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 02 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 18 Sep, 2025 Reviews received at journal 16 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Sep, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 23 Aug, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 19 Aug, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 01 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 24 Jul, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7207862","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":506812030,"identity":"4f75bf9d-f439-47c0-af67-c922447c80c4","order_by":0,"name":"Zhihao Liu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zhihao","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""},{"id":506812031,"identity":"7023d40b-3c68-4b79-933a-385a80e4d747","order_by":1,"name":"Zhong 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Semiconductors: Mn\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003eSi\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eTe\u003csub\u003e6\u003c/sub\u003e as a Case Study\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"npj-computational-materials","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"npjcompumats","sideBox":"Learn more about [npj Computational Materials](http://www.nature.com/npjcompumats/)","snPcode":"41524","submissionUrl":"https://mts-npjcompumats.nature.com/","title":"npj Computational 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This type of CMR has attracted extensive research efforts over the past decades. However, in some materials such as Mn3Si2Te6, both peak‑type and upturn‑type CMR coexist---the latter characterized by a sharp resistivity upturn at low temperatures that is also strongly suppressed by an external field. Research on the coexistence of these two types of CMR remains relatively unexplored. In our work, we propose a theoretical framework to unravel the mechanisms underlying the above mentioned CMR phenomenon in magnetic semiconductors, and apply it to the ferrimagnetic semiconductor Mn3Si2Te6. The experimentally observed $\\rho(B, T)$ behaviors are accurately reproduced, including the upturn-type CMR, peak-type CMR, and movement of $T_c$ (or resistivity peak) with fields. Additionally, the suppression of $T_c$ and resistivity with increasing direct currents, previously attributed to current control of the chiral orbital current (COC) state, is also reproduced within our framework by properly accounting for the Joule heating effects. 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