Abstract
We use neutron scattering to study the lattice and magnetic structure of the layered half-doped manganite Pr0.5Ca1.5MnO4. On cooling from high temperature, the system first becomes chargeand orbital-ordered (CO/OO) near TCO = 300 K and then develops checkerboard-like antiferromagnetic (AF) order below TN = 130 K. At temperatures above TN but below TCO (TN<T<TCO), the appearance of short-range AF spin correlations suppresses the CO/OOinduced orthorhombic strain, contrasting with other half-doped manganites, where AF order has no observable effect on the lattice distortion. These results suggest that a strong spin-lattice coupling and the competition between AF exchange and CO/OO ordering ultimately determines the low-temperature properties of the system.
