Thermal Transport as a Probe of Localized Charge and Lattice Distortions in Manganites and Cuprates

The thermal resistivity of manganites and cuprates is shown to correlate with local lattice distortions and the presence of localized holes as determined from neutron diffraction and nuclear quadrupole resonance. Oxygen doping dependent studies of heat conduction in Y-123 and Hg cuprates suggest that a fraction of the holes in the CuO$_2$ planes are localized near the planar hole concentration $p=1/8$. The results are consistent with the formation of short-ranged, static stripe domains that are pinned near oxygen vacancy clusters.