Integrity Review: "Topological Hall effect and magnetic domain walls in kagome ferrimagnetic HoMn6Sn6 single crystals" (Zhang et al., 2025)

Academic fraud report · Geng Detector

Summary

This report assesses Zhang et al. (2025), published in Applied Physics Letters (DOI: 10.1063/5.0295821), for potential academic misconduct. Verdict: No evidence of fraud; the paper appears clean based on the available evidence. The analysis focused on three areas. (1) Manuscript header timestamps (15 June 2026) and acknowledgment of grant 2025T180915 from the 89th batch of the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation are flagged as benign timeline artifacts, consistent with a 2025-11-18 online publication and a late-stage PDF download. (2) The physics is internally consistent: the topological Hall effect (THE) signals shown in Figure 3(f) across 100–300 K are corroborated by real-space Lorentz TEM observations in Figures 4(h)–(k) showing 180° and 360° magnetic domain walls in the same temperature range, with domain-wall evolution following standard spin-chirality behavior. (3) Formulas (1)–(3) are properly cited (Refs. 25, 26, 27). Limitations: only text was analyzed; no pixel-level image analysis was possible without high-resolution figures or supplementary files.

Verdict

✅ No fraud detected. Based on the available textual and metadata evidence, the paper presents a logically consistent and methodologically sound narrative. No indicators of image manipulation, data fabrication, or citation malpractice were found. The paper is recommended as a positive example.

Key findings

Benign timeline artifacts (no misconduct): The manuscript header timestamp 15 June 2026 08:44:07 and acknowledgment of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation grant 2025T180915 (89th batch) are unusual but consistent with a Proof PDF downloaded in mid-2026 from a database such as AIP or Web of Science, given a submission date of 2025-08-11, acceptance on 2025-10-31, and online publication on 2025-11-18. Severity: 🟡 informational.
Strong physics-logic closure between transport and imaging: The topological Hall effect (THE) signals in Figure 3(f) span 100–300 K and align exactly with the temperature window in which Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (L-TEM) in Figures 4(h)–(k) reveals coexisting 180° and 360° magnetic domain walls. Domain-wall evolution with increasing field (mutual attraction and annihilation of 360° walls → residual 180° walls → single-domain state) follows expected spin-chirality physics.
Methodological rigor in formulas and citations: Equations (1)–(3), including the effective magnetic anisotropy constant $K_{eff}$ (citing Ref. 25, Wang et al., Nat. Commun. 2020) and the antisymmetric Hall resistivity subtraction $\rho_{yz} = [\rho(+H) - \rho(-H)]/2$ (citing Refs. 26 and 27), are properly referenced with clear symbol definitions.

Evidence highlights

DOI: 10.1063/5.0295821
Submission → acceptance → online: 2025-08-11 → 2025-10-31 → 2025-11-18
THE temperature window: 100–300 K (Figure 3(f))
L-TEM observation window for 180° and 360° domain walls: 100–300 K (Figures 4(h)–(k))
Domain-wall field-evolution sequence: 360° walls annihilate → 180° walls remain → single domain
Header timestamp on PDF: 15 June 2026 08:44:07 (interpreted as download artifact, not author manipulation)
Acknowledged grant: 2025T180915 (89th batch, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation)

Notes

Analysis scope: Text-only extraction; Figures 1–4 and Supplementary Material were not available for pixel-level inspection (Western blot splicing, image flipping/reuse, etc., could not be tested).
Recommendation: No PubPeer comment warranted on the basis of current evidence. If a thorough exclusion of image-based fraud is required, obtaining the high-resolution figures and Supplementary Material is recommended.
Disclaimer: This report was AI-assisted and is intended for academic discussion only. Final determination of misconduct requires investigation by qualified institutions.