Ground state in a half-doped manganite distinguished by neutron spectroscopy.
We have measured the spin-wave spectrum of the half-doped bilayer manganite Pr(Ca,Sr)(2)Mn(2)O(7) in its spin, charge, and orbital ordered phase. The measurements, which extend throughout the Brillouin zone and cover the entire one-magnon spectrum, are compared critically with spin-wave calculations for different models of the electronic ground state. The data are described very well by the Goodenough model, which has weakly interacting ferromagnetic zig-zag chains in the CE-type arrangement. A model that allows ferromagnetic dimers to form within the zigzags is inconsistent with the data. The analysis conclusively rules out the strongly bound dimer (Zener polaron) model.
Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford, OX1 3PU, United Kingdom.
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Johnstone
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Perring
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Sikora
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Prabhakaran
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Boothroyd