{"database":"biostudies-literature","file_versions":[],"scores":null,"additional":{"submitter":["Gu Y"],"funding":["DOE | SC | Basic Energy Sciences (BES)","DOE | SC | Basic Energy Sciences"],"pagination":["8104"],"full_dataset_link":["https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11405877"],"repository":["biostudies-literature"],"omics_type":["Unknown"],"volume":["15(1)"],"pubmed_abstract":["The nodal-line semiconductor Mn<sub>3</sub>Si<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>6</sub> is generating enormous excitment due to the recent discovery of a field-driven insulator-to-metal transition and associated colossal magnetoresistance as well as evidence for a new type of quantum state involving chiral orbital currents. Strikingly, these qualities persist even in the absence of traditional Jahn-Teller distortions and double-exchange mechanisms, raising questions about exactly how and why magnetoresistance occurs along with conjecture as to the likely signatures of loop currents. Here, we measured the infrared response of Mn<sub>3</sub>Si<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>6</sub> across the magnetic ordering and field-induced insulator-to-metal transitions in order to explore colossal magnetoresistance in the absence of Jahn-Teller and double-exchange interactions. Rather than a traditional metal with screened phonons, the field-driven insulator-to-metal transition leads to a weakly metallic state with localized carriers. Our spectral data are fit by a percolation model, providing evidence for electronic inhomogeneity and phase separation. Modeling also reveals a frequency-dependent threshold field for carriers contributing to colossal magnetoresistance which we discuss in terms of polaron formation, chiral orbital currents, and short-range spin fluctuations. These findings enhance the understanding of insulator-to-metal transitions in new settings and open the door to the design of unconventional colossal magnetoresistant materials."],"journal":["Nature communications"],"pubmed_title":["Unconventional insulator-to-metal phase transition in Mn<sub>3</sub>Si<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>6</sub>."],"pmcid":["PMC11405877"],"funding_grant_id":["DE-SC00023144"],"pubmed_authors":["Saha A","Lin LF","De C","Gu Y","Ozerov M","Haule K","Dagotto E","Homes C","Won CJ","Zhang Y","Musfeldt JL","Smith KA","Cheong SW","Birol T"],"additional_accession":[]},"is_claimable":false,"name":"Unconventional insulator-to-metal phase transition in Mn<sub>3</sub>Si<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>6</sub>.","description":"The nodal-line semiconductor Mn<sub>3</sub>Si<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>6</sub> is generating enormous excitment due to the recent discovery of a field-driven insulator-to-metal transition and associated colossal magnetoresistance as well as evidence for a new type of quantum state involving chiral orbital currents. Strikingly, these qualities persist even in the absence of traditional Jahn-Teller distortions and double-exchange mechanisms, raising questions about exactly how and why magnetoresistance occurs along with conjecture as to the likely signatures of loop currents. Here, we measured the infrared response of Mn<sub>3</sub>Si<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>6</sub> across the magnetic ordering and field-induced insulator-to-metal transitions in order to explore colossal magnetoresistance in the absence of Jahn-Teller and double-exchange interactions. Rather than a traditional metal with screened phonons, the field-driven insulator-to-metal transition leads to a weakly metallic state with localized carriers. Our spectral data are fit by a percolation model, providing evidence for electronic inhomogeneity and phase separation. Modeling also reveals a frequency-dependent threshold field for carriers contributing to colossal magnetoresistance which we discuss in terms of polaron formation, chiral orbital currents, and short-range spin fluctuations. These findings enhance the understanding of insulator-to-metal transitions in new settings and open the door to the design of unconventional colossal magnetoresistant materials.","dates":{"release":"2024-01-01T00:00:00Z","publication":"2024 Sep","modification":"2025-04-18T13:07:38.56Z","creation":"2025-04-06T22:40:45.168Z"},"accession":"S-EPMC11405877","cross_references":{"pubmed":["39285185"],"doi":["10.1038/s41467-024-52350-1"]}}