Zener polaron ordering in half-doped manganites.
We have refined the crystal structures of a Pr(0.60)Ca(0.40)MnO(3) single crystal from neutron diffraction data. The result at low temperature gives a superstructure that cannot be interpreted as Mn(3+)/Mn(4+) charge ordering. The pattern of atom displacements suggests the trapping of electrons within pairs of Mn sites, involving both a local double exchange and a polaronic-like distortion. The two mechanisms act together to form vibronic localized electronic states: Zener polarons. We have confirmed this picture by showing how it elucidates the unconventional paramagnetic behavior of half-doped manganites.
Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, CEA-CNRS Saclay, 91191 Gif sur Yvette, France.
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Daoud-Aladine
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J
Rodríguez-Carvajal
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L
Pinsard-Gaudart
M T
MT
Fernández-Díaz
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A
Revcolevschi