# Rigidity of branching microstructures in shape memory alloys

## TL;DR

This paper investigates the microstructural patterns in shape memory alloys during phase transformations, proving that interface alignments follow known rank-one conditions and classifying solutions to associated differential inclusions.

## Contribution

It provides an ansatz-free proof that interface alignments adhere to rank-one conditions and classifies solutions to the relevant differential inclusion.

## Key findings

- Interfaces between martensite twins follow rank-one conditions.
- No convex integration solutions with complex structures exist.
- Classified all solutions to the differential inclusion.

## Abstract

We analyze generic sequences for which the geometrically linear energy \[E_\eta(u,\chi):= \eta^{-\frac{2}{3}}\int_{B_{0}(1)} \left| e(u)- \sum_{i=1}^3 \chi_ie_i\right|^2 d x+\eta^\frac{1}{3} \sum_{i=1}^3 |D\chi_i|(B_{0}(1))\] remains bounded in the limit $\eta \to 0$. Here $ e(u) :=1/2(Du + Du^T)$ is the (linearized) strain of the displacement $u$, the strains $e_i$ correspond to the martensite strains of a shape memory alloy undergoing cubic-to-tetragonal transformations and $\chi_i:B_{0}(1) \to \{0,1\}$ is the partition into phases. In this regime it is known that in addition to simple laminates also branched structures are possible, which if austenite was present would enable the alloy to form habit planes. In an ansatz-free manner we prove that the alignment of macroscopic interfaces between martensite twins is as predicted by well-known rank-one conditions. Our proof proceeds via the non-convex, non-discrete-valued differential inclusion \[e(u) \in \bigcup_{1\leq i\neq j\leq 3} \operatorname{conv} \{e_i,e_j\}\] satisfied by the weak limits of bounded energy sequences and of which we classify all solutions. In particular, there exist no convex integration solutions of the inclusion with complicated geometric structures.