Spin and orbital ordering in double-layered manganites

We study theoretically the phase diagram of the double-layered perovskite manganites taking into account the orbital degeneracy, the strong Coulombic repulsion, and the coupling with the lattice deformation. Observed spin structural changes as the increased doping are explained in terms of the orbital ordering and the bond-length dependence of the hopping integral along $c$-axis. Temperature dependence of the neutron diffraction peak corresponding to the canting structure is also explained. Comparison with the 3D cubic system is made.Comment: 7 figure

Transport and magnetic properties of GdBaCo_{2}O_{5+x} single crystals: A cobalt oxide with square-lattice CoO_2 planes over a wide range of electron and hole doping

Single crystals of the layered perovskite GdBaCo_{2}O_{5+x} (GBCO) have been grown by the floating-zone method, and their transport, magnetic, and structural properties have been studied in detail over a wide range of oxygen contents. The obtained data are used to establish a rich phase diagram centered at the "parent'' compound GdBaCo_{2}O_{5.5} -- an insulator with Co ions in the 3+ state. An attractive feature of GBCO is that it allows a precise and continuous doping of CoO_{2} planes with either electrons or holes, spanning a wide range from the charge-ordered insulator at 50% electron doping (x=0) to the undoped band insulator (x=0.5), and further towards the heavily hole-doped metallic state. This continuous doping is clearly manifested in the behavior of thermoelectric power which exhibits a spectacular divergence with approaching x=0.5, where it reaches large absolute values and abruptly changes its sign. At low temperatures, the homogeneous distribution of doped carriers in GBCO becomes unstable, and both the magnetic and transport properties point to an intriguing nanoscopic phase separation. We also find that throughout the composition range the magnetic behavior in GBCO is governed by a delicate balance between ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AF) interactions, which can be easily affected by temperature, doping, or magnetic field, bringing about FM-AF transitions and a giant magnetoresistance (MR) phenomenon. An exceptionally strong uniaxial anisotropy of the Co spins, which dramatically simplifies the possible spin arrangements, together with the possibility of continuous ambipolar doping turn GBCO into a model system for studying the competing magnetic interactions, nanoscopic phase separation and accompanying magnetoresistance phenomena.Comment: 31 pages, 32 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Novel stripe-type charge ordering in the metallic A-type antiferromagnet Pr{0.5}Sr{0.5}MnO{3}

We demonstrate that an A-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) state of Pr{0.5}Sr{0.5}MnO{3} exhibits a novel charge ordering which governs the transport property. This charge ordering is stripe-like, being characterized by a wave vector q ~ (0,0,0.3) with very anisotropic correlation parallel and perpendicular to the stripe direction. This charge ordering is specific to the manganites with relatively wide one-electron band width (W) which often exhibit a metallic A-type AFM state, and should be strictly distinguished from the CE-type checkerboard-like charge ordering which is commonly observed in manganites with narrower W such as La{1-x}Ca{x}MnO{3} and Pr{1-x}Ca{x}MnO{3}.Comment: REVTeX4, 5 pages, 4 figure

Magnon scattering processes and low temperature resistivity in CMR manganites

Low temperature resistivity of CMR manganites is investigated. At the ground state, conduction electrons are perfectly spin polarized, which is called half-metallic. From one-magnon scattering processes, it is discussed that the resistivity of a half metal as a function of temperature scales as rho(T) - rho(0) propto T^3. We take (Nd,Tb,Sr)MnO_3 as an example to compare theory and experiments. The result is in a good agreement.Comment: To appear in Proc. ICM 200

Relation between crystal and magnetic structures of the layered manganites La2-2xSr1+2xMn2O7 (0.30 =< x =< 0.50)

Comprehensive neutron-powder diffraction and Rietveld analyses were carried out to clarify the relation between the crystal and magnetic structures of La2-2xSr1+2xMn2O7 (0.30 =< x =< 0.50). The Jahn-Teller (JT) distortion of Mn-O6 octahedra, i.e., the ratio of the averaged apical Mn-O bond length to the equatorial Mn-O bond length, is Delta_JT=1.042(5) at x=0.30, where the magnetic easy-axis at low temperature is parallel to the c axis. As the JT distortion becomes suppressed with increasing x, a planar ferromagnetic structure appears at x =< 0.32, which is followed by a canted antiferromagnetic (AFM) structure at x =< 0.39. The canting angle between neighboring planes continuously increases from 0 deg (planar ferromagnet: 0.32 =< x < 0.39) to 180 deg (A-type AFM: x=0.48 where Delta_JT=1.013(5)). Dominance of the A-type AF structure with decrease of JT distortion can be ascribed to the change in the eg orbital state from d3z^2-r^2 to dx^2-y^2

Valence instability of cerium under pressure in the Kondo-like perovskite La0.1_{0.1}Ce0.4_{0.4}Sr0.5_{0.5}MnO3_3

Effect of hydrostatic pressure and magnetic field on electrical resistance of the Kondo-like perovskite manganese oxide, La$_{0.1}$Ce$_{0.4}$Sr$_{0.5}$MnO$_3$ with a ferrimagnetic ground state, have been investigated up to 2.1 GPa and 9 T. In this compound, the Mn-moments undergo double exchange mediated ferromagnetic ordering at $T_{\rm C}$ $\sim$ 280 K and there is a resistance maximum, $T_{\rm max}$ at about 130 K which is correlated with an antiferromagnetic ordering of {\it cerium} with respect to the Mn-sublattice moments. Under pressure, the $T_{\rm max}$ shifts to lower temperature at a rate of d$T_{max}$/d$P$ = -162 K/GPa and disappears at a critical pressure $P_{\rm c}$ $\sim$ 0.9 GPa. Further, the coefficient, $m$ of $-logT$ term due to Kondo scattering decreases linearly with increase of pressure showing an inflection point in the vicinity of $P_{\rm c}$. These results suggest that {\it cerium} undergoes a transition from Ce$^{3+}$ state to Ce$^{4+}$/Ce$^{3+}$ mixed valence state under pressure. In contrast to pressure effect, the applied magnetic field shifts $T_{\rm max}$ to higher temperature presumably due to enhanced ferromagnetic Mn moments.Comment: to be published in Phys. Rev. B (rapid commun

Pressure Effects in Manganites with Layered Perovskite Structure

Pressure effects on the charge and spin dynamics in the bilayer manganite compounds $La_{2-2x}Sr_{1+2x}Mn_2O_7$ are studied theoretically by taking into account the orbital degrees of freedom. The orbital degrees are active in the layered crystal structure, and applied hydrostatic pressure stabilizes the $3d_{x^2-y^2}$ orbital in comparison with $3d_{3z^2-r^2}$. The change of the orbital states weakens the interlayer charge and spin couplings, and suppresses the three dimensional ferromagnetic transition. Numerical results, based on an effective Hamiltonian which includes the energy level difference of the orbitals, show that the applied pressure controls the dimensionality of the spin and charge dynamics through changes of the orbital states.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Optical Investigations of Charge Gap in Orbital Ordered La1/2Sr3/2MnO4

Temperature and polarization dependent electronic structure of La1/2Sr3/2MnO4 were investigated by optical conductivity analyses. With decreasing temperature, for E//ab, a broad mid-infrared (MIR) peak of La1/2Sr3/2MnO4 becomes narrower and moves to the higher frequency, while that of Nd1/2Sr3/2MnO4 nearly temperature independent. We showed that the MIR peak in La1/2Sr3/2MnO4 originates from orbital ordering associated with CE-type magnetic ordering and that the Jahn-Teller distortion has a significant influence on the width and the position of the MIR peak.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure