Paramagnetic Collective Electronic Mode and Low Temperature Hybrid Modes in the Far Infrared Dynamics of Orthorhombic NdMnO3

J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 25 (2013) 395601 We report on far- and mid-infrared reflectivity of NdMnO3 from 4 K to 300K. Two main features are distinguished in the infrared spectra: active phonons in agreement with the expected for orthorhombic D2h 16-Pbnm (Z=4) space group remaining constant down to 4 K and a well-defined collective excitation in the THz region due to eg electrons in a d-orbital fluctuating environment. We trace its origin to the NdMnO3 high temperature orbital disordered intermediate phase not being totally dynamically quenched at lower temperatures. This results in minute orbital misalignments that translate in randomize non-static eg electrons within orbitals yielding a room temperature collective excitation. Below TN~78 K, electrons gradually localize inducing long-range magnetic order as the THz band condenses into two modes that emerge pinned to the A-type antiferromagmetic order. They harden simultaneously down to 4 K obeying power laws with TN as the critical temperature and exponents {\beta}~0.25 and {\beta}~0.53, as for a tri-critical point and Landau magnetic ordering, respectively. At 4K they match known zone center spin wave modes. The power law dependence is concomitant with a second order transition in which spin modes modulate orbital instabilities in a magnetoelectric hybridized orbital/charge/spin/lattice scenario. We also found that phonon profiles also undergo strong changes at TN~78 K due to magnetoelasticity.