Conventional and inverse magnetocaloric effects, and critical behaviors in Ni43Mn46Sn8In3 alloy

• Coexistence of conventional and inverse magnetocaloric effects.
• Martensitic-austenitic phase transformation.
• Critical behavior around magnetic phase transitions.
• Coexistence of long- and short-range ferromagnetic orders.

A systematic study of the conventional and inverse magnetocaloric effects, and critical behaviors in an alloy ingot of Ni43Mn46Sn8In3 has been performed. Our results reveal the sample exhibiting structural and magnetic phase transitions at temperatures TCM = 166 K (TC of the martensitic phase), TM–A = 260 K (the martensitic-to-austenitic phase transformation) and TCA = 296 K (TC of the austenitic phase). The large values of refrigerant capacity (RC) around TM–A and TCA are found to be RCM–A = 172.6 and RCA = 155.9 J kg−1, respectively, under an applied field change of 30 kOe. Our critical analyses near the TCM and TCA reveal that a coexistence of the long- and short-range ferromagnetic order in the martensitic phase, while the long-range ferromagnetic order exists in the austenitic phase. Interestingly, at around TCA, the maximum magnetic entropy change (|ΔSmax|) versus magnetic field H obeys a power law, |ΔSmax| = a·Hn, where the exponent n is found to be about 0.66.