Kinetic arrest of the first order austenite to martensite phase transition in Ni50Mn34In16:: dc magnetization studies

We report results of dc magnetization studies focusing particularly on the austenite-martensite phase transition in Ni50Mn34In16. We show that the nature of this phase transition depends significantly on the temperature (T) and magnetic field (H) history of the sample. In the presence of high magnetic field, this austenite to martensite first order phase transition is kinetically arrested. The low-temperature and high-field magnetic state shows a typical nonergodic glasslike dynamical response. Comparisons are made with similar phenomena observed recently in various classes of magnetic materials including CMR manganites.