Enhancement of the Jahn-Teller distortion by magnetization in manganites

Using measurements of resonant x-ray scattering from a LaMnO3/SrMnO3 superlattice grown on SrTiO3(001), we present experimental evidence for the enhancement of the Jahn-Teller distortion by magnetic ordering in manganites. With a specially tuned periodicity of the superlattice, scattering due to the Jahn-Teller (JT) distortion is separated from charge and magnetic scattering. The measured JT distortion is markedly enhanced upon the emergence of magnetization and strongly correlated with the spin ordering in the superlattice. Such strong correlation reveals the nature of electron-electron interaction for orbital ordering in manganites.