Large magnetoresistance and first-order phase transition in antiferromagnetic single-crystalline EuAg₄Sb₂

We present the results of a thorough investigation of the physical properties of EuAg₄Sb₂ single crystals using magnetization, heat capacity, and electrical resistivity measurements. High-quality single crystals, which crystallize in a trigonal structure with space group R3̄m, were grown using a conventional flux method. Temperature-dependent magnetization measurements along different crystallographic orientations confirm two antiferromagnetic phase transitions around TN1 = 10.5 K and TN2 = 7.5 K. Isothermal magnetization data exhibit several metamagnetic transitions below these transition temperatures. Antiferromagnetic phase transitions in EuAg₄Sb₂ are further confirmed by two sharp peaks in the temperature-dependent heat capacity data at TN1 and TN2, which shift to the lower temperature in the presence of an external magnetic field. Our systematic heat capacity measurements utilizing a long-pulse and single-slope analysis technique allow us to detect a first-order phase transition in EuAg₄Sb₂ at 7.5 K. The temperature-dependent electrical resistivity data also manifest two features associated with magnetic order. The magnetoresistance exhibits a broad hump due to the field-induced metamagnetic transition. Remarkably, the magnetoresistance keeps increasing without showing any tendency to saturate as the applied magnetic field increases, and it reaches ~20000% at 1.6 K and 60 T. At high magnetic fields, several magnetic quantum oscillations are observed, indicating a complex Fermi surface. A large negative magnetoresistance of about -55% is also observed near TN1. Moreover, the H-T phase diagram constructed using magnetization, heat capacity, and magnetotransport data indicates complex magnetic behavior in EuAg₄Sb₂.