Concurrent Multifractality and Anomalous Hall Response in the Nodal Line Semimetal Fe${}_3$GeTe${}_2$ Near Localization

Abstract

Topological states of matter exhibit unique protection against scattering by disorder. Different topological classes exhibit distinct forms and degrees of protection. Here, we investigate the response of the ferromagnetic nodal line semimetal Fe${}_3$GeTe${}_2$ to disorder and electronic interactions. By combining global magneto-transport with atomic-scale scanning tunneling spectroscopy we find a simultaneous onset of diverse phenomena below a common temperature scale of about 15 K: A crossover from metallic to insulating temperature dependence of the longitudinal resistivity, saturation of the anomalous Hall conductivity to its maximal value, formation of a sharp zero-bias dip in the tunneling density of state, and emergence of multi-fractal structure of the electronic wavefunction peaking at the Fermi energy. These concurrent observations reflect the emergence of a novel energy scale possibly related to the opening of a gap in the nodal line band of Fe${}_3$GeTe${}_2$. Our study provides overarching insight into the role of disorder, electronic interactions and Berry curvature in setting the micro- and macro-scale responses of topological semimetals.