Pressure-magnetic field induced phase transformation in Ni46Mn41In13 Heusler alloy.

The effect of hydrostatic pressure and magnetic field on the magnetic properties and phase transformation in Ni46Mn41In13 Heusler alloy was investigated. Pressure (P)-magnetic field (H)-temperature (T) phase diagram has been constructed from experimental results. In the P–T contour of the phase diagram, the slope of the austenite-martensite phase boundary line appears positive (dT/dP>0), while it appears negative (dT/dH<0) in the H–T contour. The results revealed that pressure and magnetic field have opposite effect on phase stabilization. The combined effect of pressure and magnetic field on martensitic transition has led to two important findings: (i) pressure dependent shift of austenite start temperature (As) is higher when larger field is applied, and (ii) field dependent shift of As is lowered when a higher pressure is applied. The pressure and magnetic field dependent shift observed in the martensitic transformation has been explained on the basis of thermodynamic calculations. Curie temperature of the phases was found to increase with pressure at a rate of 0.6 K/kbar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]