Thermoelectric transport properties in magnetically ordered crystals.

Area of Science:

• Solid State Physics
• Materials Science
• Crystallography

Background:

• Thermoelectric transport properties are crucial for understanding energy conversion in materials.
• Magnetically ordered crystals exhibit complex behaviors influenced by both crystal structure and magnetic ordering.
• Existing literature contains inconsistencies regarding the description of these properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically present the forms of thermoelectric transport tensors for 122 space-time point groups in magnetically ordered crystals.
• To clarify the relationship between crystallographic conventions and the resulting tensor forms.
• To identify and correct errors in the current scientific literature.

Main Methods:

• Derivation of tensor forms for thermoelectric transport properties up to second order in an applied magnetic field.
• Analysis of symmetry operations for 122 space-time point groups.
• Utilizing Nye notation to illustrate relationships between different point group forms.
• Decomposition of measurable effects into contributions from crystal symmetry and magnetic ordering.

Main Results:

• Forms of thermoelectric transport tensors are provided for common orientations and space-time point groups.
• Ambiguities arising from different crystallographic orientation conventions (Hermann-Mauguin symbol) are resolved for hexagonal crystal families.
• Nye notation effectively visualizes the interrelations between tensor forms across various point groups.
• A clear distinction is made between general crystalline contributions and magnetic ordering-specific contributions to thermoelectric effects.

Conclusions:

• The presented tensor forms provide a standardized and accurate basis for studying thermoelectricity in magnetic crystals.
• The study corrects significant errors in the existing literature, enhancing reliability.
• Understanding the interplay between crystal symmetry and magnetic ordering is key to predicting and optimizing thermoelectric performance.