Electronic structure of the austenitic and martensitic state of magnetocaloric Ni-Mn-In Heusler alloy films

Changes of the electronic and magnetic structure near the martensitic phase transition of Ni-Mn-In Heusler alloys doped with Co are investigated by experiment and theory. The nonstoichiometric Ni${}_{48}$Co${}_{5}$Mn${}_{35}$In${}_{12}$ epitaxial film undergoes a transition from a weakly magnetic martensitic phase below ${T}_{m}=350$ K to a ferromagnetic austenitic phase above ${T}_{m}$. Element-specific magnetic moments and the unoccupied density of states function is investigated using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. We find an antiparallel alignment of Mn and Ni/Co magnetic moments in both phases. The electronic structure is calculated using the SPR-KKR Green's function approach consi…