  We show that the current carrier density collapse in doped manganites, which
results from bipolaron formation in the paramagnetic phase, leads to a colossal
change of the optical conductivity in an external magnetic field at
temperatures close to the ferromagnetic transition. As with the colossal
magnetoresistance (CMR) itself, the corresponding magnetooptical effect is
explained by the dissociation of localized bipolarons into mobile polarons
owing to the exchange interaction with the localized Mn spins in the
ferromagnetic phase. The effect is positive at low frequencies and negative in
the high-frequency region. The present results agree with available
experimental observations.
