Effect of [110] uniaxial strain on the martensitic transformation in Ni2MnGa

We propose to investigate the effect of a uniaxial load along the [110] direction on a single crystal of Ni2MnGa. Ni2MnGa is the prototype of the Heusler alloys class of material that have important technological application in various fields ranging from magneto-caloric to shape memory effects. These remarkable properties arise from the martensitic transformation from the parent cubic austenite. Our previous work related to the symmetry aspects of this transition clearly indicates a strict relation between the two order parameters that drive the transition. To confirm our phenomenological model, obtained by a combination of the superspace formalism and Landau theory, we would like to investigate the effect of monoclinic strain on the martensitic transformation and compare the obtained result with our previous investigations when the applied strain had tetragonal symmetry.