Anomalous magnetotransport in Pr0.5Ca0.5Mn0.99Cr0.01O3

Abstract
Pr0.5Ca0.5Mn0.99Cr0.01O3 shows several anomalous properties: Field-cooled (FC) resistivity at 10 K is several orders of magnitude lower than the zero-field cooled (ZFC) value, magnetoresistance isotherm at 125 K is asymmetric about the origin (H=0 T) and resistivity and magnetization are hysteretic between field cooling and field warming. No clear difference between ZFC and FC magnetization up to 5 T was found. We suggest that nanometric-size ferromagnetic clusters coexist with the charge-ordered antiferromagnetic matrix in H=0 T and the matrix breaks into domains upon field cooling which leads to low resistivity.