Accessing quasi-flat $\textit{f}$-bands to harvest large Berry curvature in NdGaSi

Abstract: Bands away from the Fermi energy do not influence the electrical conduction. In typical rare-earth lanthanide compounds, the localized 4$\textit{f}$-electrons have a weak effect on the electrical conduction, limiting their influence on the Berry curvature and, hence, the intrinsic anomalous Hall effect. However, a comprehensive study of the magnetic, thermodynamic, and transport properties of single-crystalline NdGaSi, guided by first-principles calculations, reveals a ferromagnetic ground state that induces a splitting of quasi-flat 4$\textit{f}$-electronic bands and positions them near the Fermi energy. The observation of an extraordinarily large intrinsic anomalous Hall conductivity of 1165 $\Omega^{-1}$cm$^{-1}$ implies the direct involvement of localized states in the generation of non-trivial band crossings around the Fermi energy. These results are remarkable when compared to ferrimagnetic NdAlSi, which differs only in a non-magnetic atom (a change in the principal quantum number $\textit{n}$ of the outer $\textit{p}$ orbital) with the same number of valence electrons and does not exhibit any measurable anomalous Hall conductivity.