Theoretical prediction and experimental study of a ferromagnetic shape memory alloy: Ga₂MnNi

Abstract

We predict the existence of a ferromagnetic shape memory alloy Ga₂MnNi using density-functional theory. The martensitic start temperature (T_M) is found to be approximately proportional to the stabilization energy of the martensitic phase (δE_tot) for different shape memory alloys. Experimental studies performed to verify the theoretical results show that Ga₂MnNi is ferromagnetic at room temperature and T_M and T_C are 780 and 330 K, respectively. Both from theory and experiment, the martensitic transition is found to be volume conserving that is indicative of shape memory behavior.