Acoustic and magnetic properties of La0.825Sr0.175MnO3 lanthanum manganites

This paper reports on measurements of the acoustic, magnetic, and electrical properties and on an x-ray microprobe analysis of a La0.825Sr0.175MnO3 single-crystal sample. The acoustic studies were made with a pulsed acoustic spectrometer operating on a 770-MHz carrier. The studies revealed anomalies in the damping coefficients and sound velocity near 300, 200 K, and the Curie temperature TC (283 K) where the colossal magnetoresistance occurs. The effect of a magnetic field on the magnetic texture of lanthanum manganites cooled below TC, observed earlier in samples of other composition, is confirmed. In addition, a region was found wherein the magnetic susceptibility of an unclamped sample behaves anomalously. The electrical resistivity was observed to decrease substantially below TC; this effect exhibits a hysteretic pattern in the interval 200–180 K.