  The local atomic disorder and the electronic structure in the environment of
manganese atoms in LaMnO_3 has been studied by x-ray absorption spectroscopy,
over a temperature range (300K to 870K) covering the orbital ordering
transition (710K). The Mn-O distances splitting into short and long bonds (1.95
and 2.15A) is kept across the transition temperature, so that the MnO_6
octahedra remain locally Jahn-Teller distorted. Discontinuities in the Mn local
structure are identified in the extended x-ray fine structure spectra at this
temperature, associated to a reduction of the disorder in the super-exchange
angle and to the removal of the anisotropy in the radial disorder within the
coordination shell. Subtle changes in the electronic local structure also take
place at the Mn site at the transition temperature. The near edge spectra show
a small drop of the Mn 4p hole count and a small enhancement in the pre-edge
structures at the transition temperature. These features are associated to an
increase of the covalence of the Mn-O bonds. Our results shed light on the
local electronic and structural phenomena in a model of order-disorder
transition, where the cooperative distortion is overcome by the thermal
disorder.
