Local Irreversible phase reconfiguration and thermal-memory effects in a highly-correlated manganite

TL;DR

This study reveals a new irreversible structural regime in a manganite that encodes thermal memory, demonstrating complex nonequilibrium phase dynamics and coupling between lattice and electronic states in correlated oxides.

Contribution

It uncovers a previously unknown regime of structural irreversibility linked to phase competition, advancing understanding of metastability and memory effects in correlated materials.

Findings

Identification of structural irreversibility via Raman spectroscopy

Observation of thermal-memory effects in phase-separated manganite

Confirmation of coupling between lattice distortions and electronic properties

Abstract

Phase-separated manganites provide a unique platform to study the dynamics of competing electronic and structural orders in correlated systems. In La0.275Pr0.35Ca0.375MnO3 (LPCMO), we use temperature-cycling Raman spectroscopy to uncover a previously unidentified regime of structural irreversibility, emerging from the interplay between lattice distortions and phase competition across the phase-separation and charge-orbital ordering temperatures. This irreversible behavior encodes a thermal-memory effect reflecting the system's history-dependent energy landscape. Correlated magnetic and transport responses confirm the coupling between lattice and electronic degrees of freedom, revealing a new form of nonequilibrium phase dynamics in mixed-valence oxides. These results advance the understanding of metastability and memory phenomena in strongly correlated materials.