Quantitative explanation for the electrical conductivity in (La1-xYx)2/3Ca1/3MnO3

The electrical conductivity of single-phase (La1-xYx)2/3Ca1/3MnO3 ceramic samples shows activated insulating behaviour at high temperatures, and a transition to metallic behaviour at low temperatures. On the basis of paramagnetic resonance experiments, we model the conductive channel as a series of paramagnetic regions and ferromagnetic domains along the direction of current flow. It is shown that the electrical conductivity can be explained quantitatively for the whole temperature range studied.