Bond-Bending and Bond-Stretching Phonons in Ferromagnetic La₀.7Sr₀.3MnO₃

Longitudinal optical phonons with oxygen character were measured in La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO_3 by inelastic neutron scattering in the (1 0 0) cubic direction and results were compared with shell model predictions. Measurements were performed in several Brillouin zones, which enabled us to identify the eigenvectors independent of the shell model. All major disagreements between model predictions and experimental results are primarily due to the anomalous downward dispersion of the bond-stretching vibration. The main new result is that the rhombohedral distortion of the cubic lattice makes the bond-stretching vibrations interact strongly with bond-bending modes folded into the cubic Brillouin zone.