Large Negative Magnetoresistance in Antiferromagnetic Gd₂Se₃

Rare earth chalcogenides provide a great platform to study exotic quantum phenomena such as superconductivity and charge density waves. Among various interesting properties, the coupling between magnetism and electronic transport has attracted significant attention. Here, we report the investigation of such coupling in orthorhombic α-Gd₂Se₃ single crystals through magnetic, calorimetric, and transport property measurements. α-Gd₂Se₃ is found to display an antiferromagnetic ground state below 11 K with metamagnetic spin-flop transitions. The magnetic fluctuations remain strong above the transition temperature. Transport measurements reveal an overall metallic transport behavior with a large negative magnetoresistance near the magnetic transition temperature, which can be understood in terms of the suppression of spin scattering by the magnetic field. These findings not only deepen our understanding of the magneto-transport properties in rare earth chalcogenides but also highlight their potential for applications in spintronic devices. Further studies could investigate the effects of external pressures or doping on these materials' magnetic and electronic properties.