  Using an adapted Sn-flux growth technique we obtained comparatively large
CeFeAsO single crystals of better quality than previously reported polycrystals
or single crystals, as evidenced by much sharper anomalies at the structural
and magnetic phase transitions as well as a much higher residual resistivity
ratio of 12. In the magnetically ordered phase we observe a very pronounced
metallic behavior of the in-plane resistivity, which excludes a Mott insulator
regime at low temperature. The separation Delta_T = T_0 - T_N between
structural and magnetic ordering temperatures decreases with increasing sample
quality, from 18 K in the initial reports to 6 K in the present single
crystals, demonstrating that this separation is not an intrinsic property of
the RFeAsO systems. Our results indicate that the coupling between magnetic
ordering and structural distortion is very similar in AFe2As2 and RFeAsO type
of compounds, much more similar than previously thought. The implications of
our experimental results give arguments both in favor and against the nematic
phase model.
