Differential scanning calorimetry under a magnetic field H has been used to measure the entropy change ⌬S at the magnetoelastic transition in Gd 5 (Si x Ge 1Ϫx ) 4 alloys, for xр0.5. We show that ⌬S scales with the transition temperature, T t , which is tuned by x and H, from 70 to 310 K. Such a scaling demonstrates that T t is the relevant parameter in determining the giant magnetocaloric effect in these alloys, and proves that the magnetovolume effects due to H are of the same nature as the volume effects caused by substitution. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.66.212402 PACS number͑s͒: 75.30.Sg, 75.20.En, 75.40.Cx, 75.50.Cc The magnetocaloric effect ͑MCE͒ has been studied for decades owing to its potential application to magnetic refrigerants. 1 The MCE is the isothermal entropy change or the adiabatic temperature change arising from the application or removal of a magnetic field H on a system with magnetic degrees of freedom. Many efforts have been devoted to the analysis of the MCE both in the vicinity of second-order magnetic phase transitions, where Gd is the element that shows the largest effect close to room temperature, 1,2 and in order-disorder blocking processes, e.g., in molecular magnets. 3 However, the MCE may be maximized in the vicinity of a first-order magnetoelastic phase transition, when the crystallographic transformation is field induced, resulting in an additional contribution to the entropy change 4,1 : a giant MCE has been discovered in the Gd 5 (Si x Ge 1Ϫx ) 4 compounds with xр0.5, [5][6][7] and recently in MnAs-based materials. 8,9 This paper is aimed at studying the entropy change ⌬S associated with the first-order magnetoelastic phase transition in Gd 5 (Si x Ge 1Ϫx ) 4 alloys, which has lately aroused much discussion. 5,10-13 Two compositional ranges are of interest. For 0.24рxр0.5, the giant MCE is related to a firstorder magnetoelastic phase transition from a hightemperature paramagnetic ͑PM͒, monoclinic phase ( P112 1 /a) to a low-temperature ferromagnetic ͑FM͒, Gd 5 Si 4 -type orthorombic-I phase ( Pnma), at temperatures ranging from 130 K (xϭ0.24) to 276 K (xϭ0.5). 6,14 The structural transition occurs by a shear mechanism 15 and yields a large volume contraction. The field-induced, reversible nature of the magnetostructural transition then results in strong magnetostriction 14 and giant ͑negative͒ magnetoresistance. 16 For xр0.2, a second-order PM-toantiferromagnetic ͑AFM͒ transition occurs at T N ͑from ϳ125 K for xϭ0 to ϳ135 K for xϭ0.2). 6 Upon further cooling, a first-order AFM-FM transition takes place, whose temperature ranges linearly from about 20 K (xϭ0) to 120 K (xϭ0.2). MCE is related to such a first-order phase transition. The nature of the AFM phase is currently under discussion, 17 and the magnetic structure may correspond to that of either a canted ferrimagnet, as proposed for Nd 5 Ge 4 ͑Ref. 18͒ or a canted antiferromagnet, as for the Ge-rich region of the Tb 5 (Si x Ge 1Ϫx ) 4 alloys. 19,20 The AFM-FM transition occurs simultaneously with a first-order structural tra...