Manganites – compounds of manganese oxides – show great
promise as “go-to” materials for future electronic devices because of their
ability to instantly switch from an electrical insulator to a conductor under a
wide variety of external stimuli, including magnetic fields, photo-excitations
and vibrational excitations. This ultrafast switching arises from the many
different ways in which the electrons and electron-spins in a manganite may
organize or re-organize in response to such external stimuli. Understanding the
physics behind these responses is crucial for the future development of
manganites.