Anomalous field-dependent specific heat in charge-ordered Pr$_{1-x}$Ca$_x$MnO$_3$ and La$_{0.5}$Ca$_{0.5}$MnO$_3$

We report low temperature specific heat measurements of Pr$_{1-x}$Ca$_{x}$MnO$_{3}$ ($0.3leq x leq 0.5$) and La$_{0.5}$Ca$_{0.5}$MnO$_{3}$ with and without applied magnetic field. An excess specific heat, $C^{prime}(T)$, of non-magnetic origin associated with charge ordering is found for all the samples. A magnetic field sufficient to induce the transition from the charge-ordered state to the ferromagnetic metallic state does not completely remove the $C^{prime}$ contribution. This suggests that the charge ordering is not completely destroyed by a melting magnetic field. In addition, the specific heat of the Pr$_{1-x}$Ca$_{x}$MnO$_{3}$ compounds exhibit a large contribution linear in temperature ($gamma T$) originating from magnetic and charge disorder.