Origin of the Optical Gap in Half-Doped Manganites
  We have analyzed the coexisting charge and orbital ordering in half-doped manganites using a model which includes Coulomb and Jahn-Teller orbital polarization interactions. Most surprisingly, the gap in the optical conductivity is reduced by both on-site and intersite Coulomb interactions, but increases and explains the experimental results when the Jahn-Teller terms with orbital polarization are considered. The origin of this behavior is explained within a molecular model which arises in the limit of extreme topological frustration, when single electrons are confined to molecular units consisting of three orbitals. 
Mario Cuoco, Canio Noce, and Andrzej M. Oles