Impact of thermal effects on the current-tunable electrical transport in the ferrimagnetic semiconductor Mn 3 Si 2 Te 6

In the ferrimagnetic semiconductor ${\mathrm{Mn}}₃{\mathrm{Si}}₂{\mathrm{Te}}₆$, a colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) is observed only when a magnetic field is applied along the magnetic hard axis ($\mathbf{H}\ensuremath{\parallel}c$). This phenomenon suggests an unconventional CMR mechanism potentially driven by the interplay between magnetism, topological band structure, and/or chiral orbital currents (COC). By comparing electrical resistance measurements using continuous direct currents and pulse currents, we found that the current-induced insulator-metal transition, supporting the COC-driven CMR mechanism, is likely a consequence of Joule heating effects. First-principles calculations reveal a pronounced band-gap reduction upon tilting the magnetic moments toward the $c$ axis, accompanied by increased carrier concentration and Fermi velocity. Combining spin-orientation-dependent electronic structure with Boltzmann transport theory, the calculated electrical resistance closely reproduces the CMR observed experimentally. These findings suggest that the CMR in ${\mathrm{Mn}}₃{\mathrm{Si}}₂{\mathrm{Te}}₆$ stems primarily from band-gap reduction induced by partial polarization of magnetic moments along the magnetic hard axis.