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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 January 2014
We show evidence that the competition between the antiferromagnetic metallic phase and the charge- and orbital-ordered insulating phase at the reentrant phase boundary of a layered manganite, LaSr2Mn2O7, can be manipulated using ultrafast optical excitation. The time-dependent evolution of the Jahn-Teller superlattice reflection, the indicator of the formation of charge and orbital order, was measured at different laser fluences. The laser-induced change in the Jahn-Teller reflection intensity shows a reversal of sign between earlier (∼10 ns) and later (∼150 ns) times during the relaxation of the sample. This is consistent with a physics picture whereby the laser excitation modulates the local competition between the metallic and the insulating phases.