  In this work we map tunnel conductance curves with nanometric spatial
resolution, tracking polaronic quasiparticle excitations when cooling across
the insulator-to-metal transition in La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 films. In the insulating
phase the spectral signature of polarons, a depletion of conductance at low
bias flanked by peaks, is detected all over the scanned surface. These features
are still observed at the transition and persist on cooling into the metallic
phase. Polaron-binding energy maps reveal that polarons are not confined to
regions embedded in a highly-conducting matrix but are present over the whole
field of view both above and below the transition temperature.
