Theoretical prediction and experimental study of a ferromagnetic shape memory alloy: Ga_2MnNi

Abstract

We predict the existence of a new ferromagnetic shape memory alloy Ga_2MnNi using density functional theory. The martensitic start temperature (T_M) is found to be approximately proportional to the stabilization energy of the martensitic phase (deltaE_tot) for different shape memory alloys. Experimental studies performed to verify the theoretical results show that Ga_2MnNi is ferromagnetic at room temperature and the T_M and T_C are 780K and 330K, respectively. Both from theory and experiment, the martensitic transition is found to be volume conserving that is indicative of shape memory behavior.

11 pages, 3 figures