Vacancies at Mn-sites in LaMn1−xO3 manganites: Interplay between ferromagnetic interactions and hydrostatic pressure

Magnetic properties of self-doped LaMn1−xO3 manganites (0⩽x⩽0.06) under hydrostatic pressure up to 12 kbar have been investigated. Samples with x=0 and 0.02 are antiferromagnetic insulators with a Néel temperature TN=138 K and 124 K, respectively. Materials with x=0.04 and 0.06 are ferromagnetic with a Curie temperature TC close to 110 K. With increasing self-doping, the ferromagnetic moment at T=5 K increases significantly while the pressure coefficient of TN decreases significantly. Pressure dependences of TC and of spontaneous magnetization are markedly different. For x=0.04, both quantities increase under increasing pressure. However, for x=0.06 transition temperature becomes pressure independent while magnetization markedly decreases with increasing pressure. Suppression of the ferromagnetism under pressure is tentatively attributed to the development of antiferromagnetic domains capable of competing with the ferromagnetic order under pressure.