Origin of stabilization of macrotwin boundaries in martensites

The origin of stabilization of complex microstructures along macrotwin boundaries in martensites is explained by comparing two models based on Ginzburg-Landau theory. The first model incorporates a geometrically nonlinear strain tensor to ensure that the Landau energy is invariant under rigid body rotations, while the second model uses a linearized strain tensor under the assumption that deformations and rotations are small. We show that the approximation in the second model does not always hold for martensites and that the experimental observations along macrotwin boundaries can only be reproduced by the geometrically nonlinear (exact) theory. Graphical abstract