Growth, transport, and magnetic properties of Pr0.67Ca0.33MnO3 thin films

We have grown Pr0.67Ca0.33MnO3 thin films on LaAlO3 using pulsed laser deposition. Below 50 K, a field induced insulator-metal transition results in changes in resistivity of at least 6 orders of magnitude. The field induced conducting state is metastable at low temperature. The temperature dependence of the resistivity exhibits considerable hysteresis in a field of 40 kOe but becomes reversible in a field of 80 kOe

Phase diagram for Ca_{1-x}Y_xMnO_3 type crystals

We present a simple model to study the electron doped manganese perovskites. The model considers the competition between double exchange mechanism for itinerant electrons and antiferromagnetic superexchange interaction for localized electrons. It represents each Mn^{4+} ion by a spin 1/2, on which an electron can be added to produce Mn^{3+}; we include a hopping energy t, a strong intratomic interaction exchange J (in the limit J/t>>1), and an interatomic antiferromagnetic interaction K between the local spins. Using the Renormalized Perturbation Expansion and a Mean Field Approximation on the hopping terms and on the superexchange interaction we calculate the free energy. From it, the stability of the antiferromagnetic, canted, ferromagnetic, and novel spin glass phases can be determined as functions of the parameters characterizing the system. The model results can be expressed in terms of t and K for each value of the doping x in phase diagrams. The magnetization m and canting angle can also be calculated as fuctions of temperature for fixed values of doping and model parameters.Comment: 4 figure

Effect of disorder on the magnetic and transport properties of La_{1-x}Sr_{x}MnO_{3}

We study a simplified model of the electronic structure of compounds of the type of La$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$MnO$_3$. The model represents each Mn$^{4+}$ ion by a spin S=1/2, on which an electron can be added to produce Mn$^{3+}$. We include two strong intratomic interactions in the Hamiltonian: exchange ($J$% ) and Coulomb ($U$). Finally, to represent the effect of Sr substitution by La in a simple way, we include a distribution of diagonal energies at the Mn sites. Then we use Green function techniques to calculate a mobility edge and the average density of states. We find that according to the amount of disorder and to the concentration of electrons in the system, the Fermi level can cross the mobility edge to produce a metal to insulator transition as the magnetization decreases (increase of temperature). If the disorder is large, the system remains insulating for all concentrations. Concentrations near zero or one favor the insulating state while intermediate values of concentration favor the metallic state.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures available upon request, accepted for publication in Solid State Communication

Electron-Doped Manganese Perovskites: The Polaronic State

Using the Lanczos method in linear chains we study the ground state of the double exchange model including an antiferromagnetic super-exchange in the low concentration limit. We find that this ground state is always inhomogeneous, containig ferromagnetic polarons. The extention of the polaron spin distortion, the dispersion relation and their trapping by impurities, are studied for diferent values of the super exchange interaction and magnetic field. We also find repulsive polaron polaron interaction.Comment: 4 pages, 6 embedded figure

Zone center phonons of the orthorhombic RMnO3 (R = Pr, Eu, Tb, Dy, Ho) perovskites

A short range force constant model (SRFCM) has been applied for the first time to investigate the phonons in RMnO3 (R = Pr, Eu, Tb, Dy, Ho) perovskites in their orthorhombic phase. The calculations with 17 stretching and bending force constants provide good agreement for the observed Raman frequencies. The infrared frequencies have been assigned for the first time. PACS Codes: 36.20.Ng, 33.20.Fb, 34.20.CfComment: 8 pages, 1 figur

Intermediate Valence Model for the Colossal Magnetoresistance in Tl_{2}Mn_{2}O_{7}

The colossal magnetoresistance exhibited by Tl_{2}Mn_{2}O_{7} is an interesting phenomenon, as it is very similar to that found in perovskite manganese oxides although the compound differs both in its crystalline structure and electronic properties from the manganites. At the same time, other pyrochlore compounds, though sharing the same structure with Tl_{2}Mn_{2}O_{7}, do not exhibit the strong coupling between magnetism and transport properties found in this material. Mostly due to the absence of evidence for significant doping into the Mn-O sublattice, and the tendency of Tl to form conduction bands, the traditional double exchange mechanism mentioned in connection with manganites does not seem suitable to explain the experimental results in this case. We propose a model for Tl_{2}Mn_{2}O_{7} consisting of a lattice of intermediate valence ions fluctuating between two magnetic configurations, representing Mn-3d orbitals, hybridized with a conduction band, which we associate with Tl. This model had been proposed originally for the analysis of intermediate valence Tm compounds. With a simplified treatment of the model we obtain the electronic structure and transport properties of Tl_{2}Mn_{2}O_{7}, with good qualitative agreement to experiments. The presence of a hybridization gap in the density of states seems important to understand the reported Hall data.Comment: 8 pages + 5 postscript fig

Double Degeneracy and Jahn-Teller Effects in CMR Perovskites

Jahn-Teller (JT) electron-phonon coupling effects in the colossal magnetoresistance perovskite compounds $La_{1-x}A_xMnO_3$ are investigated. Electron-electron correlations between two degenerate Mn $e_g$ orbitals are studied in the Gutzwiller approximation. The static JT distortion and antiadiabatic polaron effects are studied in a modified Lang-Firsov approximation. We find that (i) the electron or hole character of the charge carrier depends on the static JT distortion, and (ii) due to the two-component nature of the JT coupling, fluctuations in the JT distortion direction contribute to the charge transport in similar fashion as the local spins.Comment: 11 RevTeX pages. 3 Figures available upon request. submitted to Phys. rev. B (Rapid Communications

Charge Localization in Disordered Colossal-Magnetoresistance Manganites

The metallic or insulating nature of the paramagnetic phase of the colossal-magnetoresistance manganites is investigated via a double exchange Hamiltonian with diagonal disorder. Mobility edge trajectory is determined with the transfer matrix method. Density of states calculations indicate that random hopping alone is not sufficient to induce Anderson localization at the Fermi level with 20-30% doping. We argue that the metal-insulator transtion is likely due to the formation of localized polarons from nonuniform extended states as the effective band width is reduced by random hoppings and electron-electron interactions.Comment: 4 pages, RevTex. 4 Figures include

Ferromagnetic Polarons in Manganites

Using the Lanczos method in linear chains we study the double exchange model in the low concentration limit, including an antiferromagnetic super-exchange K. In the strong coupling limit we find that the ground state contains ferromagnetic polarons whose length is very sensitive to the value of K/t. We investigate the dispersion relation, the trapping by impurities, and the interaction between these polarons. As the overlap between polarons increases, by decreasing K/t, the effective interaction between them changes from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic. The scaling to the thermodynamic limit suggests an attractive interaction in the strong coupling regime (J_h > t) and no binding in the weak limit (J_h \simeq t).Comment: 12 pages, accepted in PRB, to be published in Novembe

Optical Conductivity of Manganites: Crossover from Jahn-Teller Small Polaron to Coherent Transport in the Ferromagnetic State

We report on the optical properties of the hole-doped manganites Nd_{0.7}Sr _{0.3}MnO_{3}, La_{0.7}Ca_{0.3}MnO_{3}, and La_{0.7}Sr_{0.3}MnO_{3}. The low-energy optical conductivity in the paramagnetic-insulating state of these materials is characterized by a broad maximum near 1 eV. This feature shifts to lower energy and grows in optical oscillator strength as the temperature is lowered into the ferromagnetic state. It remains identifiable well below Tc and transforms eventually into a Drude-like response. This optical behavior and the activated transport in the paramagnetic state of these materials are consistent with a Jahn-Teller small polaron. The optical spectra and oscillator strength changes compare well with models that include both double exchange and the dynamic Jahn-Teller effect in the description of the electronic structure.Comment: 27 pages (Latex), 6 figures (PostScript