Electric field induced collapse of the charge-ordered phase in manganites

The colossal electroresistance in manganites accompanies the insulator- to- metal phase transition induced by the electric field. A phenomenological phase transition model is proposed to study this electric field induced collapse of the charge- ordered phase. The hysteresis of the phase transition is well explained using the effective medium approximation. The volume fraction of the metallic region at the metal- to- insulator transition point is estimated as 30%.