Field-induced first-order ferromagnetic transition in (La 0.8 Eu 0.2 ) 4/3 Sr 5/3 Mn 2 O 7 single crystal

Abstract

Although the content of Eu in the single crystal (La_0.8Eu_0.2)_4/3Sr_5/3Mn₂O₇ is very small, the effects of Eu ions on the magnetic and transport properties are quite evident at low temperature due to the large size difference between Eu and La ions, compared with the crystal’s parent compound La_5/3Sr_4/3Mn₂O₇. The sharp jumps in M(H) and ρ (H) curves suggest that a first-order Field-induced transition from magnetically disorder state to 3D long-range ferromagnetic metallic state takes place at 2 K. Both resistivity and magnetization dependents on the magnetic history and clearly demonstrate hysteretic behaviors. These results indicate that the system has a very fragile ground state and the local lattice distortions in bilayer manganites play an important role in the physical properties.