Spontaneous magnetization above TC in polycrystalline La0.7 Ca0.3 MnO3 and La0.7 Ba0.3 MnO3

In the present work, spontaneous magnetization is observed in the inverse magnetic susceptibility of La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 and La0.7Ba0.3MnO3 compounds above TC up to a temperature T*. From information gathered from neutron diffraction, dilatometry, and high-field magnetization data, we suggest that T* is related to the transition temperature of the low-temperature (high magnetic field) magnetic phase. In the temperature region between T* and TC, the application of a magnetic field drives the system from the high-temperature to low-temperature magnetic phases, the latter possessing a higher magnetization. © 2014 American Physical Society.