Martensitic transformation in a single crystal of V₃Si, as measured by NMR, magnetic susceptibility, and magnetoresistivity

The Martensitic transformation (MT), a temperature-driven, displacive structural transformation in the crystal lattice, is observed in a single crystal of V₃Si using measurements of magnetoresistivity and magnetic susceptibility, and NMR spectroscopy -- all on the same sample. This was to uncover further details of the MT, insofar as changes in physical structure, as well as in the scattering of charge carriers. The latter issue is explored in the context of the well-known Köhler’s Rule, which postulates that the field (H) dependence F of the resistivity (from zero-field ρ_o) is a power law: F(H/ρ_o) ~ (H/ρ_o)^b, from which a deviation may occur because of a MT. We found that the MT may not occur uniformly throughout the crystal, possibly propagating as a wave that may even be pinned or unpinned by defects.