Temperature-FORC analysis of a magnetocaloric Heusler alloy using a unified driving force approach (TFORC)

Temperature-first order reversal curve (FORC) distributions of thermomagnetic phase transitions are a fingerprinting tool to identify features of the phase transformations of the material. However, they have two major limitations: qualitative character, due to the shift of the loops with increasing driving forces, and long experimental time. The use of an effective temperature that takes into account the different driving forces affecting the transformation allows for a more quantitative comparison of the features of the FORC distributions, as it eliminates the need for an ad hoc selection of the origin of the distribution axes. At the same time, experimental measurements as a function of this effective temperature are significantly faster than purely temperature loops, hinting at a future possibility of time and cost efficient FORC characterization of temperature dependent transitions.