  Temperature dependent optical conductivity spectra of a La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 (LCMO)
sample were measured. In the metallic regime at very low temperatures, they
clearly showed two types of absorption features, i.e., a sharp Drude peak and a
broad mid-infrared absorption band, which could be explained as coherent and
incoherent bands of a large lattice polaron. This elementary excitation in LCMO
was found to be in a strong coupling regime and to have interactions with the
spin degree of freedom.
