Magneto-elastic polarons in CMR perovskites

In this presentation I focus on the ferro- to paramagnetic transition in the manganese perovskites. I present a set of simple approximations which couple the relevant electronic degrees of freedom, the double exchange model, to local Jahn-Teller like lattice distortions. In a simplistic description, I show how this coupling controls the magnetism in the narrow band manganates, and how their critical behavior is influenced by the quasilocalization of Jahn-Teller polarons.