  The colossal magnetoresistance exhibited by Tl_{2}Mn_{2}O_{7} is an
interesting phenomenon, as it is very similar to that found in perovskite
manganese oxides although the compound differs both in its crystalline
structure and electronic properties from the manganites. At the same time,
other pyrochlore compounds, though sharing the same structure with
Tl_{2}Mn_{2}O_{7}, do not exhibit the strong coupling between magnetism and
transport properties found in this material. Mostly due to the absence of
evidence for significant doping into the Mn-O sublattice, and the tendency of
Tl to form conduction bands, the traditional double exchange mechanism
mentioned in connection with manganites does not seem suitable to explain the
experimental results in this case. We propose a model for Tl_{2}Mn_{2}O_{7}
consisting of a lattice of intermediate valence ions fluctuating between two
magnetic configurations, representing Mn-3d orbitals, hybridized with a
conduction band, which we associate with Tl. This model had been proposed
originally for the analysis of intermediate valence Tm compounds. With a
simplified treatment of the model we obtain the electronic structure and
transport properties of Tl_{2}Mn_{2}O_{7}, with good qualitative agreement to
experiments. The presence of a hybridization gap in the density of states seems
important to understand the reported Hall data.
