Mössbauer study of 57Fe-doped La0.5Ca0.5MnO3

Abstract

The first order antiferromagnet (AFM) to ferromagnet (FM) transition observed in ${\mathrm{La}}_{0.5}{\mathrm{Ca}}_{0.5}{\mathrm{MnO}}_3$ compound has been studied, both macroscopically and microscopically, by magnetization and ${}^{57}\mathrm{Fe}$ Mössbauer measurements. The Mössbauer spectra reveal that Fe substitutes for ${\mathrm{Mn}}^{3+}$ as ${\mathrm{Fe}}^{3+}\hspace{0.5em}\mathrm{}(S=5/2\mathrm{}).$ The zero-field-cooled and field-cooled Mössbauer spectra for the same field are completely different and can be fitted by predominantly AFM and FM components, respectively, in agreement with the magnetization data. In general, our data can be explained in the framework of a first-order, field-induced transition.