Local atomic arrangement and martensitic transformation in Ni50_{50}Mn35_{35}In15_{15}: An EXAFS Study

Heusler alloys that undergo martensitic transformation in ferromagnetic state are of increasing scientific and technological interest. These alloys show large magnetic field induced strains upon martensitic phase change thus making it a potential candidate for magneto-mechanical actuation. The crystal structure of martensite is an important factor that affects both the magnetic anisotropy and mechanical properties of such materials. Moreover, the local chemical arrangement of constituent atoms is vital in determining the overall physical properties. Ni$_{50}$Mn$_{35}$In$_{15}$ is one such ferromagnetic shape memory alloy that displays exotic properties like large magnetoresistance at moderate field values. In this work, we present the extended x-ray absorption fine-structure measurements (EXAFS) on the bulk Ni$_{50}$Mn$_{35}$In$_{15}$ which reveal the local structural change that occurs upon phase transformation. The change in the bond lengths between different atomic species helps in understanding the type of hybridization which is an important factor in driving such Ni-Mn based systems towards martensitic transformation

Interaction of strongly correlated electrons and acoustical phonons

We investigate the interaction of correlated electrons with acoustical phonons using the extended Hubbard-Holstein model in which both, the electron-phonon interaction and the on-site Coulomb repulsion are considered to be strong. The Lang-Firsov canonical transformation allows to obtain mobile polarons for which a new diagram technique and generalized Wick's theorem is used. This allows to handle the Coulomb repulsion between the electrons emerged into a sea of phonon fields (\textit{phonon clouds}). The physics of emission and absorption of the collective phonon-field mode by the polarons is discussed in detail. Moreover, we have investigated the different behavior of optical and acoustical phonon clouds when propagating through the lattice. In the strong-coupling limit of the electron-phonon interaction, and in the normal as well as in the superconducting phase, chronological thermodynamical averages of products of acoustical phonon-cloud operators can be expressed by one-cloud operator averages. While the normal one-cloud propagator has the form of a Lorentzian, the anomalous one is of Gaussian form and considerably smaller. Therefore, the anomalous electron Green's functions can be considered to be more important than corresponding polarons functions, i.e., pairing of electrons without phonon-clouds is easier to achieve than pairing of polarons with such clouds.Comment: : 28 pages, 9 figures, revtex4. Invited paper for a special issue of Low Temperature Physics dedicated to the 20th anniversary of HTS

Direct Observation of Martensitic Phase-Transformation Dynamics in Iron by 4D Single-Pulse Electron Microscopy

The in situ martensitic phase transformation of iron, a complex solid-state transition involving collective atomic displacement and interface movement, is studied in real time by means of four-dimensional (4D) electron microscopy. The iron nanofilm specimen is heated at a maximum rate of ∼10^(11) K/s by a single heating pulse, and the evolution of the phase transformation from body-centered cubic to face-centered cubic crystal structure is followed by means of single-pulse, selected-area diffraction and real-space imaging. Two distinct components are revealed in the evolution of the crystal structure. The first, on the nanosecond time scale, is a direct martensitic transformation, which proceeds in regions heated into the temperature range of stability of the fcc phase, 1185−1667 K. The second, on the microsecond time scale, represents an indirect process for the hottest central zone of laser heating, where the temperature is initially above 1667 K and cooling is the rate-determining step. The mechanism of the direct transformation involves two steps, that of (barrier-crossing) nucleation on the reported nanosecond time scale, followed by a rapid grain growth typically in ∼100 ps for 10 nm crystallites

Sharing tasks or sharing actions? Evidence from the joint Simon task.

In a joint Simon task, a pair of co-acting individuals divide labors of performing a choice-reaction task in such a way that each actor responds to one type of stimuli and ignores the other type that is assigned to the co-actor. It has been suggested that the actors share the mental representation of the joint task and perform the co-actor’s trials as if they were their own. However, it remains unclear exactly which aspects of co-actor’s task-set the actors share in the joint Simon task. The present study addressed this issue by manipulating the proportions of compatible and incompatible trials for one actor (inducer actor) and observing its influences on the performance of the other actor (diagnostic actor) for whom there were always an equal proportion of compatible and incompatible trials. The design of the present study disentangled the effect of trial proportion from the confounding effect of compatibility on the preceding trial. The results showed that the trial proportions for the inducer actor had strong influences on the inducer actor’s own performance, but it had little influence on the diagnostic actor’s performance. Thus, the diagnostic actor did not represent aspects of the inducer actor’s task-set beyond stimuli and responses of the inducer actor. We propose a new account of the effect of preceding compatibility on the joint Simon effect.Action Contro

Strong interaction of correlated electrons with phonons: Exchange of phonon clouds by polarons

We investigate the interaction of strongly correlated electrons with phonons in the frame of the Hubbard-Holstein model. The electron-phonon interaction is considered to be strong and is an important parameter of the model besides the Coulomb repulsion of electrons and band filling. This interaction with the nondispersive optical phonons has been transformed to the problem of mobile polarons by using the canonical transformation of Lang and Firsov. We discuss in particular the case for which the on-site Coulomb repulsion is exactly cancelled by the phonon-mediated attractive interaction and suggest that polarons exchanging phonon clouds can lead to polaron pairing and superconductivity. It is then the frequency of the collective mode of phonon clouds being larger than the bare frequency, which determines the superconducting transition temperature.Comment: 23 pages, Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Modulated Martensite: Why it forms and why it deforms easily

Diffusionless phase transitions are at the core of the multifunctionality of (magnetic) shape memory alloys, ferroelectrics and multiferroics. Giant strain effects under external fields are obtained in low symmetric modulated martensitic phases. We outline the origin of modulated phases, their connection with tetragonal martensite and consequences for their functional properties by analysing the martensitic microstructure of epitaxial Ni-Mn-Ga films from the atomic to macroscale. Geometrical constraints at an austenite-martensite phase boundary act down to the atomic scale. Hence a martensitic microstructure of nanotwinned tetragonal martensite can form. Coarsening of twin variants can reduce twin boundary energy, a process we could follow from the atomic to the millimetre scale. Coarsening is a fractal process, proceeding in discrete steps by doubling twin periodicity. The collective defect energy results in a substantial hysteresis, which allows retaining modulated martensite as a metastable phase at room temperature. In this metastable state elastic energy is released by the formation of a 'twins within twins' microstructure which can be observed from the nanometre to millimetre scale. This hierarchical twinning results in mesoscopic twin boundaries which are diffuse, in contrast to the common atomically sharp twin boundaries of tetragonal martensite. We suggest that observed extraordinarily high mobility of such mesoscopic twin boundaries originates from their diffuse nature which renders pinning by atomistic point defects ineffective.Comment: 34 pages, 8 figure

First-principles calculation of the instability leading to giant inverse magnetocaloric effects

The structural and magnetic properties of functional Ni-Mn-Z (Z=Ga, In, Sn) Heusler alloys are studied by first-principles and Monte Carlo methods. The ab initio calculations give a basic understanding of the underlying physics which is associated with the strong competition of ferro- and antiferromagnetic interactions with increasing chemical disorder. The resulting d-electron orbital dependent magnetic ordering is the driving mechanism of magnetostructural instability which is accompanied by a drop of magnetization governing the size of the magnetocaloric effect. The thermodynamic properties are calculated by using the ab initio magnetic exchange coupling constants in finite-temperature Monte Carlo simulations, which are used to accurately reproduce the experimental entropy and adiabatic temperature changes across the magnetostructural transition