Charge melting and polaron collapse in $La_{1.2}Sr_{1.8}Mn_{2}O_{7}$

Abstract

X-ray and neutron scattering measurements directly demonstrate the existence of polarons in the paramagnetic phase of optimally-doped colossal magnetoresistive oxides. The polarons exhibit short-range correlations that grow with decreasing temperature, but disappear abruptly at the ferromagnetic transition because of the sudden charge delocalization. The "melting" of the charge ordering as we cool through $T_C$ occurs with the collapse of the quasi-static polaron scattering, and provides important new insights into the relation of polarons to colossal magnetoresistance.

4 pages (RevTex), 3 postscript-formatted figures (Figs. 1 and 2 are color figures)