Giant magnetoresistance effects in UNiGa

Abstract
Magnetic transitions in UNiGa were found to cause pronounced anomalies in temperature and magnetic‐field dependencies of the electrical resistivity. The resistivity values are drastically reduced by the field induced transition from an antiferromagnetic to a ferromagnetic phase. The giant magnetoresistance (as large as Δρ/ρ=−87% at T=1.2 K for i∥c) observed in UNiGa is typical for materials characterized by a strong coupling of conduction electrons with highly correlated f electrons. The observed anisotropy of transport properties is closely connected with the strong uniaxial magnetic anisotropy of this compound.