Twinning is a fundamental mechanism behind the simultaneous increase of strength and ductility in medium- and high-entropy alloys, but its operation is not yet well understood, which limits their exploitation. Since many high-entropy alloys showing outstanding mechanical properties are actually thermodynamically unstable at ambient and cryogenic conditions, the observed twinning challenges the existing phenomenological and theoretical plasticity models. Here, we adopt a transparent approach based on effective energy barriers in combination with first-principle calculations to shed light on the origin of twinning in high-entropy alloys. We demonstrate that twinning can be the primary deformation mode in metastable face-centered cubic alloys with a fraction that surpasses the previously established upper limit. The present advance in plasticity of metals opens opportunities for tailoring the mechanical response in engineering materials by optimizing metastable twinning in high-entropy alloys.

The effects of V, Cr, and Mn on the magnetic, elastic, and thermal properties of FeCoNiCu high-entropy alloy are studied by using the exact muffin-tin orbitals method in combination with the coherent potential approximation. The calculated lattice parameters and Curie temperatures in the face-centered-cubic structure are in line with the available experimental and theoretical data. A significant change in the magnetic behavior is revealed when adding equimolar V, Cr, and Mn to the host composition. The three independent single-crystal elastic constants are computed using a finite strain technique, and the polycrystalline elasticity parameters including shear modulus, Young’s modulus, Pugh ratio, Poisson’s ratio, and elastic anisotropy are derived and discussed. The effects of temperature on the structural parameters are determined by making use of the Debye–Grüneisen model. It is found that FeCoNiCuCr possesses a slightly larger thermal expansion coefficient than do the other alloys considered here.

The competition between plastic deformation mechanisms in FeCrCoNiAl_x high-entropy alloys is explored as a function of temperature by first-principle theory. Investigating the generalized stacking fault energy, we identify a strong interplay between the magnetic and chemical effects. At cryogenic conditions (ferromagnetic state), full-slip is accompanied by martensitic transformation, whereas increasing temperature towards room-temperature (paramagnetic state) changes the deformation mechanism to full-slip plus twinning. Alloying with Al reduces the susceptibility for stacking fault formation in the ferromagnetic state and promotes twinning in the paramagnetic state. The present advance in magneto-plasticity reveals new opportunities for tailoring the mechanical response in high-entropy alloys. IMPACT STATEMENT Magnetic state critically affects the $\gamma$-surface of FeCrCoNiAl_x and is responsible for the emergence of the exceptional metastable twinning phenomena at room temperature. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

We report a chemically disordered solid solution, Al_0.6Cr_0.2MnFe_0.5Co_0.3Ni_0.5, based on a body-centered cubic underlying lattice with the measured Curie temperature of ∼380 K. First-principles alloy theory is employed to investigate the temperature-dependent free energy, elastic constants, and coefficient of thermal expansion at the ferromagnetic and paramagnetic states. Theory and experiment are found to strengthen each other, and the results indicate that the magnetic state has a strong impact on the thermo-elastic properties of the considered alloy. The present advance in the thermo-magneto-elasticity enhances the understanding required for controlling the magnetic and mechanical response of multi-component systems.