Phase Separation in Models for Manganites: Theoretical Aspects and Comparison with Experiments

TL;DR

This review discusses computational models for manganites, highlighting phase separation phenomena at low temperatures, and compares theoretical results with experimental evidence of charge inhomogeneities relevant to colossal magnetoresistance.

Contribution

It provides an overview of computational studies on manganite models, emphasizing phase separation and its experimental relevance, including both one- and two-orbital models with Jahn-Teller phonons.

Findings

Computational models show phase separation at low temperatures.

Experimental data support charge inhomogeneities in manganites.

Charge inhomogeneities may explain colossal magnetoresistance.

Abstract

This paper is an informal review of the present status of the computational studies of models for manganites that recently reported the existence of phase separation at low temperatures (S. Yunoki et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 845 (1998) and cond-mat/9807149). Results for both the one-orbital and two-orbital models, the latter with Jahn-Teller phonons, are included. A large list of experimental results discussed in the paper are compatible with the existence of charge-inhomogeneities in the manganites, which may be an important ingredient for the explanation of the CMR effect in these compounds.