Pressurizing an antiferromagnetic topological insulator candidate*

Intrinsic magnetic topological insulators hold the potential of hosting quantum anomalous Hall states, chiral Majorana fermions, and topological magnetoelectric effects. We have identified Zintl antiferromagnet Eu₅In₂Sb₆ as a candidate material which displays remarkable insulating behavior. Our previous results showed the presence of colossal magnetoresistance in this system, which is consistent with the presence of magnetic polarons. Here we investigate the effects of applied hydrostatic and uniaxial pressure on Eu₅In₂Sb₆ single crystals in an effort to drive the system through a topological phase transition. Our results show an exceptionally large decrease in resistivity under applied hydrostatic pressure as well as uniaxial pressure along the c axis.