Second-order magnetic phase transition in orthorhombic Pr0.7Ca0.15Ba0.15MnO3

• Second-order magnetic phase transition in a narrow-bandwidth manganite.
• Coexistence of short- and long-range FM orders in Pr0.7Ca0.15Ba0.15MnO3.
• Magnetical inhomogeneity in a polycrystalline manganite influences the critical behavior.

We have studied the critical behavior around the ferromagnetic–paramagnetic (FM–PM) phase transition (the Curie temperature, TC) of a polycrystalline manganite Pr0.7Ca0.15Ba0.15MnO3. The assessments based on Banejee׳s criteria reveals the sample undergoing a second-order magnetic phase transition. The use of the modified Arrott and Kouvel–Fisher methods determined the values of critical parameters TC≈117 K, β=0.403±0.024 and γ=1.242±0.033. With these values, magnetic-field dependences of magnetization at temperatures around TC (M–H–T   curves) can be well described by the universal function of M(H,ε)=|εβ|f±(H/|ε|β+γ)M(H,ε)=|ε|βf±(H/|ε|β+γ), where ε=(T−TC)/TC, and f+ and f− are regular functions for T>TC and T