Low temperature and magnetic field X-ray diffraction study for Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3

First-order structural phase transition based on charge order for Nd-0.5 Sr -0.5 MnO3 was studied by a newly developed low temperature and magnetic fie ld X-ray diffraction apparatus. The structural phase transition that corres ponds to a jump of lattice constants was confirmed even in magnetic fields up to 5 T. We observed the coexistence region consisting of high and low-te mperature phases in magnetic fields. This region increased with increasing field. The domain of the high-temperature ferromagnetic phase remains in th e charge order phase at low temperature and low magnetic field. The magneti c behavior is explained by the volume fraction of high-temperature domain. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.