New Clues to Mechanism for Colossal Mangetoresistance

The method: Scientists used an electron probe (green) to make images and collect other data while using a scanning tunneling microscope tip (red) to apply current or an electric field to the sample. The first layered image of black lines shows polaron waves, which propagate during the application of the current. Fine dots in the second layer are the individual atoms, while the periodic dot-clusters show the electron ordered state. The graph of electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) reveals bonding-electron excitation. The bottom layer is a structural model of the crystal lattice. And the vertical graph shows the electric resistance (I-V curve) of the crystal when current is applied. Credit: BNL