Double Degeneracy and Jahn-Teller Effects in CMR Perovskites

Abstract

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.

11 RevTeX pages. 3 Figures available upon request. submitted to Phys. rev. B (Rapid Communications)