Dichotomy in ultrafast atomic dynamics as direct evidence of polaron formation in manganites
Source abstract
Abstract
Abstract Polaron transport, in which electron motion is strongly coupled to the underlying lattice deformation or phonons, is crucial for understanding electrical and optical conductivities in many solids. However, little is known experimentally about the dynamics of individual phonon modes during polaron motion. It remains elusive whether polarons have a key role in materials with strong electronic correlations. Here we report the use of a new experimental technique, ultrafast MeV-electron diffraction, to quantify the dynamics of both electronic and atomic motions in the correlated LaSr2Mn2O7. Using photoexcitation to set the electronic system in motion, we find that Jahn-Teller-like O, Mn4+ and La/Sr displacements dominate the lattice response and exhibit a dichotomy in behaviour—overshoot-and-recovery for one sublattice versus normal behaviour for the other. This dichotomy, attributed to slow electronic relaxation, proves that polaron transport is a key process in doped manganites. Our technique promises to be applicable for specifying the nature of electron–phonon coupling in complex materials.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials · Electronic and Structural Properties of Oxides · Advanced Condensed Matter Physics
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
References (36)
Show source-provided references
1. Fröhlich, H., Peltzer, H. & Zienau, S. XX. Properties of slow electrons in polar materials. Phil. Mag. 41, 221–242 (1950).10.1080/14786445008521794 ↗
2. Cho, A. Superconductivity’s smorgasbord of insights: a movable feast. Science 332, 190–192 (2011).10.1126/science.332.6026.190 ↗
3. Millis, A. Lattice effects in magnetoresistive manganese perovskites. Nature 392, 147–150 (1998).10.1038/32348 ↗
4. Fausti, D. et al. Light-induced superconductivity in a stripe-ordered cuprate. Science 331, 189–191 (2011).10.1126/science.1197294 ↗
5. Anderson, P. W. Is there glue in Cuprate superconductors? Science 316, 1705–1707 (2007).10.1126/science.1140970 ↗
6. Newns, D. M. & Tsuei, C. C. Fluctuating Cu-O-Cu bond model of high-temperature superconductivity. Nat. Phys. 3, 184–191 (2007).10.1038/nphys542 ↗
7. Yin, W. G., Volja, D. & Ku, W. Orbital ordering in LaMnO3: electron-electron versus electron-lattice interactions. Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 116405 (2006).10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.116405 ↗
8. Dagotto, E. Complexity in strongly correlated electronic systems. Science 309, 257–262 (2005).10.1126/science.1107559 ↗
9. Hu, W. et al. Optically enhanced coherent transport in YBa2Cu3O6.5 by ultrafast redistribution of interlayer coupling. Nat. Mater. 13, 705–711 (2014).10.1038/nmat3963 ↗
10. Mankowsky, R. et al. Nonlinear lattice dynamics as a basis for enhanced superconductivity in YBa2Cu3O6.5 . Nature 516, 71–73 (2014).10.1038/nature13875 ↗
11. Li, T. et al. Femtosecond switching of magnetism via strongly correlated spin-charge quantum excitations. Nature 496, 69–73 (2013).10.1038/nature11934 ↗
12. Goodenough, J. B. Theory of the role of covalence in the perovskite-type manganites [La, M (II)]MnO3 . Phys. Rev. 100, 564–573 (1955).10.1103/PhysRev.100.564 ↗
13. Li, J. Q., Matsui, Y., Kimura, T. & Tokura, Y. Structural properties and charge-ordering transition in LaSr2Mn2O7 . Phys. Rev. B 57, 3205–3208 (1998).10.1103/PhysRevB.57.R3205 ↗
14. Argyriou, D., Bordallo, H. & Campbell, B. Charge ordering and phase competition in the layered perovskite LaSr2Mn2O7 . Phys. Rev. B 61, 15269–15276 (2000).10.1103/PhysRevB.61.15269 ↗
15. Volja, D., Yin, W.-G. & Ku, W. Charge ordering in half-doped manganites: weak charge disproportion and leading mechanisms. Europhys. Lett. 89, 27008 (2010).10.1209/0295-5075/89/27008 ↗
16. Allen, P. B. & Perebeinos, V. Anti-Jahn-Teller polaron in LaMnO3 . Phys. Rev. B 60, 10747–10753 (1999).10.1103/PhysRevB.60.10747 ↗
17. Hotta, T., Malvezzi, A. & Dagotto, E. Charge-orbital ordering and phase separation in the two-orbital model for manganites: roles of Jahn-Teller phononic and Coulombic interactions. Phys. Rev. B 62, 9432–9452 (2000).10.1103/PhysRevB.62.9432 ↗
18. Millis, A., Littlewood, P. & Shraiman, B. Double exchange alone does not explain the resistivity of La1-xSrxMnO3 . Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 5144–5147 (1995).10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.5144 ↗
19. Jaime, M. et al. Hall-effect sign anomaly and small-polaron conduction in (La1−xGdx)0.67Ca0.33MnO3. Phy. Rev. Lett. 78, 951–954 (1997).10.1103/PhysRevLett.78.951 ↗
20. Şen, C., Alvarez, G. & Dagotto, E. Competing ferromagnetic and charge-ordered states in models for manganites: the origin of the colossal magnetoresistance effect. Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 127202 (2007).10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.127202 ↗
21. Jooss, C. et al. Polaron melting and ordering as key mechanisms for colossal resistance effects in manganites. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. UsA 104, 13597–13602 (2007).10.1073/pnas.0702748104 ↗
22. Wu, L., Klie, R. F., Zhu, Y. & Jooss, C. Experimental confirmation of Zener-polaron-type charge and orbital ordering in Pr1−xCaxMnO3 . Phys. Rev. B 76, 174210 (2007).10.1103/PhysRevB.76.174210 ↗
23. Ehrke, H. et al. Photoinduced melting of antiferromagnetic order in La0.5Sr1.5MnO4 measured using ultrafast resonant soft X-Ray diffraction. Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 217401 (2011).10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.217401 ↗
24. Först, M. et al. Driving magnetic order in a manganite by ultrafast lattice excitation. Phys. Rev. B 84, 241104(R) (2011).10.1103/PhysRevB.84.241104 ↗
25. Beaud, P. et al. A time-dependent order parameter for ultrafast photoinduced phase transitions. Nat. Mater. 13, 923–927 (2014).10.1038/nmat4046 ↗
26. Eichberger, M. et al. Snapshots of cooperative atomic motions in the optical suppression of charge density waves. Nature 468, 799–802 (2010).10.1038/nature09539 ↗
27. Williamson, J. C., Cao, J., Ihee, H., Frey, H. & Zewail, A. H. Clocking transient chemical changes by ultrafast electron diffraction. Nature 386, 159–162 (1997).10.1038/386159a0 ↗
28. Nie, S., Wang, X., Park, H., Clinite, R. & Cao, J. Measurement of the electronic Gruneisen constant using femtosecond electron diffraction. Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 025901 (2006).10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.025901 ↗
29. Siwick, B. J., Dwyer, J. R., Jordan, R. E. & Miller, R. J. D. An atomic-level view of melting using femtosecond electron diffraction. Science 302, 1382–1385 (2003).10.1126/science.1090052 ↗
30. Zhu, P. et al. Femtosecond time-resolved MeV electron diffraction. New J. Phys. 17, 063004 (2015).10.1088/1367-2630/17/6/063004 ↗
31. Zhu, P. et al. Dynamic separation of electron excitation and lattice heating during the photoinduced melting of the periodic lattice distortion in 2H-TaSe2 . Appl. Phys. Lett. 103, 071914 (2013).10.1063/1.4818460 ↗
32. Wilkins, S. B. et al. Separating the causes of orbital ordering in LaSr2Mn2O7 using resonant soft x-ray diffraction. J. Phys. Condens. Matter 18, L323–L329 (2006).10.1088/0953-8984/18/24/L01 ↗
33. Goodenough, J. B. Electronic and ionic transport properties and other physical aspects of perovskites. Rep. Prog. Phys. 67, 1915–1993 (2004).10.1088/0034-4885/67/11/R01 ↗
34. Ma, C. et al. Strong coupling of the iron-quadrupole and anion-dipole polarizations in Ba(Fe1−xCox)2As2 . Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 077001 (2014).10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.077001 ↗
35. Zhu, Y. & Dürr, H. The future of electron microscopy. Phys. Today 68, 32–38 (2015).10.1063/PT.3.2747 ↗
36. Spence, J. C. H. & Zuo, J. M . Electron Microdiffraction. Plenum Press (1992).10.1007/978-1-4899-2353-0 ↗