Enhancement of equilibrium fraction in La0.5Ca0.5MnO3 by recrystallization

The nature of the coexisting ferromagnetic-metallic (FMM) and antiferromagnetic-insulating (AFI) phases in a La0.5Ca0.5MnO3 sample is explored through magnetization and resistivity studies. Like many first-order magnetic transitions, in this case also the FMM-AFI transformation is interrupted by glass-like arrest of kinetics. As a result, a fraction of the high-temperature FMM phase persists in a glassy state to the lowest temperature. We show that this glassy FMM phase devitrifies to equilibrium AFI phase on heating. Significantly, it can be 'recrystallized' to AFI state by annealing and more easily by successive annealing, presumably by heterogeneous nucleation. We show that the recrystallization is easier when the starting glass fraction is larger.