ENHANCEMENT OF FERROMAGNETIC CLUSTER INDUCED BY MAGNETIC FIELD IN THE PHASE-SEPARATED La_0.5Ca_0.5MnO₃

Magnetic and transport properties of La_0.5Ca_0.5MnO₃ have been investigated by measuring the magnetization and resistance in zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and field-cooled (FC) modes. Conspicuously irreversible behaviors of magnetization/resistance in the two different modes were observed below the charge ordering transition temperature (T_CO). The ZFC and FC magnetizations at 5K, as functions of the magnetic field, coincide for \mu₀H≤1T. Afterwards, the ZFC magnetization tends to an approximate constant, but the FC one increases linearly with increasing field. There exists an excellent correspondence between magnetization and resistance below T_CO. All the results suggest that the ferromagnetic clusters embed in the charge-ordered matrix. The phenomenon of ferromagnetic clusters growing up easily in the FC procedure has been interpreted according to the model of thermally activated two-level system.