Two-phase coexistence is tunable and is not the equilibrium state in half-doped manganites

TL;DR

This study reveals that the low-temperature two-phase coexistence in half-doped manganites is tunable and metastable, with phase fractions that can be continuously varied by different paths in magnetic field-temperature space, indicating it is not an equilibrium state.

Contribution

It demonstrates experimentally that two-phase coexistence in half-doped manganites is multi-valued and metastable, challenging the notion that it is an equilibrium state.

Findings

Phase fractions can be continuously tuned by different (H,T) paths.

Two-phase coexistence is metastable, not an equilibrium.

Multiple coexisting phase fractions are possible at low temperatures.

Abstract

We discuss our very interesting experimental observation that the low-temperature two-phase coexistence in half-doped manganites is multi-valued (at any field) in that we can tune the coexisting antiferromagnetic-insulating(AF-I) and the ferromagnetic-metallic(FM-M) phase-fractions by following different paths in (H,T) space. We have shown experimentally that the phase-fraction, in this two-phase coexistence, can take continuous infinity of values. All but one of these are metastable, and two-phase coexistence is not an equilibrium state.