Novel dynamical effects and glassy response in a strongly correlated electronic system.

We find an unconventional nucleation of a low-temperature paramagnetic metal phase with a monoclinic structure from the matrix of a high-temperature antiferromagnetic insulator phase with a tetragonal structure in a strongly correlated electronic system BaCo0.9Ni0.1S1.97. Such unconventional nucleation leads to a decrease in resistivity by several orders with relaxation at a fixed temperature. The novel dynamical process could arise from the competition of strain fields, Coulomb interactions, magnetic correlations, and disorders. Such competition may frustrate the nucleation, giving rise to a slow, nonexponential relaxation and "physical aging" behavior.