Griffiths phase and metal-insulator transition in substituted manganites (Review Article)

Experimental and theoretical investigations of the physics of metal-insulator (MI) phase transition in manganites with a colossal magnetoresistive effect are reviewed. Emphasis is given to the effects caused by electric and magnetic state inhomogeneities near the Curie temperature. The experimental data which sup-port the Griffiths phase presence and the theoretical works that treat the MI transition as a specific realization of the ferromagnetic-Griffiths phase transition in substituted manganites are discussed