22 research outputs found
Dislocation Kinks in Copper: Widths, Barriers, Effective Masses, and Quantum Tunneling
We calculate the widths, migration barriers, effective masses, and quantum
tunneling rates of kinks and jogs in extended screw dislocations in copper,
using an effective medium theory interatomic potential. The energy barriers and
effective masses for moving a unit jog one lattice constant are close to
typical atomic energies and masses: tunneling will be rare. The energy barriers
and effective masses for the motion of kinks are unexpectedly small due to the
spreading of the kinks over a large number of atoms. The effective masses of
the kinks are so small that quantum fluctuations will be important. We discuss
implications for quantum creep, kink--based tunneling centers, and Kondo
resonances