Limited local electron-lattice coupling in manganites: An electron diffraction study

(Pr,Ca)MnO3 is the archetypal charge-ordered manganite, but in Pr0.48Ca0.52MnO3 we find (using convergent-beam electron diffraction and dark-field images) that the superlattice period is locally incommensurate with respect to the parent lattice, and that the superlattice orientation possesses significant local variations. This suggests that local electron-lattice coupling never overwhelmingly dominates the rich physics of manganites, even in the most extreme scenarios that produce the largest colossal magnetoresistance effects.