Orbital angular momentum-driven anomalous Hall effect

Orbital angular momentum (OAM) plays a central role in regulating the magnetic state of electrons in non-periodic systems such as atoms and molecules. In solids, on the other hand, OAM is usually quenched by the crystal field, and thus, has a negligible effect on magnetisation. Accordingly, it is generally neglected in discussions around band topology such as Berry curvature (BC) and intrinsic anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC). Here, we present a theoretical framework demonstrating that crystalline OAM can be directionally unquenched in transition metal oxides via energetic proximity of the conducting d electrons to the local magnetic moments. We show that this leads to `composite' Fermi-pockets with topologically non-trivial OAM textures. This enables a giant Berry curvature with an intrinsic non-monotonic AHC, even in collinearly-ordered spin states. We use this model to explain the origin of the giant AHC observed in the forced-ferromagnetic state of EuTiO3 and propose it as a prototype for OAM driven AHC.