Subextensive Scaling in the Athermal, Quasistatic Limit of Amorphous Matter in Plastic Shear Flow

We present the results of numerical simulations of an atomistic system undergoing plastic shear flow in the athermal, quasistatic limit. The system is shown to undergo cascades of local rearrangements, associated with quadrupolar energy fluctuations, which induce system-spanning events organized into lines of slip oriented along the Bravais axes of the simulation cell. A finite size scaling analysis reveals subextensive scaling of the energy drops and participation numbers, linear in the length of the simulation cell, in good agreement with the observed real-space structure of the plastic events.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure

Supersonic dislocations observed in a plasma crystal

Experimental results on the dislocation dynamics in a two-dimensional plasma crystal are presented. Edge dislocations were created in pairs in lattice locations where the internal shear stress exceeded a threshold and then moved apart in the glide plane at a speed higher than the sound speed of shear waves, $C_T$. The experimental system, a plasma crystal, allowed observation of this process at an atomistic (kinetic) level. The early stage of this process is identified as a stacking fault. At a later stage, supersonically moving dislocations generated shear-wave Mach cones

A STRAINED SPACE-TIME TO EXPLAIN THE LARGE SCALEPROPERTIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Space-time can be treated as a four-dimensional material continuum. The corresponding generally curved manifold can be thought of as having been obtained, by continuous deformation, from a four-dimensional Euclidean manifold. In a three-dimensional ordinary situation such a deformation process would lead to strain in the manifold. Strain in turn may be read as half the di®erence between the actual metric tensor and the Euclidean metric tensor of the initial unstrained manifold. On the other side we know that an ordinary material would react to the attempt to introduce strain giving rise to internal stresses and one would have correspondingly a deformation energy term. Assuming the conditions of linear elasticity hold, the deformation energy is easily written in terms of the strain tensor. The Einstein-Hilbert action is generalized to include the new deformation energy term. The new action for space-time has been applied to a Friedmann-Lemaitre- Robertson-Walker universe filled with dust and radiation. The accelerated expansion is recovered, then the theory has been put through four cosmological tests: primordial isotopic abundances from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis; Acoustic Scale of the CMB; Large Scale Structure formation; luminosity/redshift relation for type Ia supernovae. The result is satisfying and has allowed to evaluate the parameters of the theor

Oscillating elastic defects: competition and frustration

We consider a dynamical generalization of the Eshelby problem: the strain profile due to an inclusion or "defect" in an isotropic elastic medium. We show that the higher the oscillation frequency of the defect, the more localized is the strain field around the defect. We then demonstrate that the qualitative nature of the interaction between two defects is strongly dependent on separation, frequency and direction, changing from "ferromagnetic" to "antiferromagnetic" like behavior. We generalize to a finite density of defects and show that the interactions in assemblies of defects can be mapped to XY spin-like models, and describe implications for frustration and frequency-driven pattern transitions.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Effects of Space Charge, Dopants, and Strain Fields on Surfaces and Grain Boundaries in YBCO Compounds

Statistical thermodynamical and kinetically-limited models are applied to study the origin and evolution of space charges and band-bending effects at low angle [001] tilt grain boundaries in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_7$ and the effects of Ca doping upon them. Atomistic simulations, using shell models of interatomic forces, are used to calculate the energetics of various relevant point defects. The intrinsic space charge profiles at ideal surfaces are calculated for two limits of oxygen contents, i.e. YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_6$ and YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_7$. At one limit, O$_6$, the system is an insulator, while at O$_7$, a metal. This is analogous to the intrinsic and doping cases of semiconductors. The site selections for doping calcium and creating holes are also investigated by calculating the heat of solution. In a continuum treatment, the volume of formation of doping calcium at Y-sites is computed. It is then applied to study the segregation of calcium ions to grain boundaries in the Y-123 compound. The influences of the segregation of calcium ions on space charge profiles are finally studied to provide one guide for understanding the improvement of transport properties by doping calcium at grain boundaries in Y-123 compound.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

Point defect in solids: Shear dominance of the far-field energy

It is shown that the elastic energy far from a point defect in an isotropic solid is mainly shear elastic energy. The calculation, which is based on a standard dipole expansion, shows that no matter how large or small the bulk modulus is compared to the shear modulus, less than 10% of the distant point defect energy is associated with volume changes.Comment: Brief not

Enhanced Eshelby twist on thin wurtzite InP nanowires and measurement of local crystal rotation

We have performed a detailed study of the lattice distortions of InP wurtzite nanowires containing an axial screw dislocation. Eshelby predicted that this kind of system should show a crystal rotation due to the dislocation induced torque. We have measured the twisting rate and the dislocation Burgers vector on individual wires, revealing that nanowires with a 10-nm radius have a twist up to 100% larger than estimated from elasticity theory. The strain induced by the deformation has a Mexican-hat-like geometry, which may create a tube-like potential well for carriers

Elastic forces that do no work and the dynamics of fast cracks

Elastic singularities such as crack tips, when in motion through a medium that is itself vibrating, are subject to forces orthogonal to the direction of motion and thus impossible to determine by energy considerations alone. This fact is used to propose a universal scenario, in which three dimensionality is essential, for the dynamic instability of fast cracks in thin brittle materials.Comment: 8 pages Latex, 1 Postscript figur

Mesoscale theory of grains and cells: crystal plasticity and coarsening

Solids with spatial variations in the crystalline axes naturally evolve into cells or grains separated by sharp walls. Such variations are mathematically described using the Nye dislocation density tensor. At high temperatures, polycrystalline grains form from the melt and coarsen with time: the dislocations can both climb and glide. At low temperatures under shear the dislocations (which allow only glide) form into cell structures. While both the microscopic laws of dislocation motion and the macroscopic laws of coarsening and plastic deformation are well studied, we hitherto have had no simple, continuum explanation for the evolution of dislocations into sharp walls. We present here a mesoscale theory of dislocation motion. It provides a quantitative description of deformation and rotation, grounded in a microscopic order parameter field exhibiting the topologically conserved quantities. The topological current of the Nye dislocation density tensor is derived from a microscopic theory of glide driven by Peach-Koehler forces between dislocations using a simple closure approximation. The resulting theory is shown to form sharp dislocation walls in finite time, both with and without dislocation climb.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Internal Stress in a Model Elasto-Plastic Fluid

Plastic materials can carry memory of past mechanical treatment in the form of internal stress. We introduce a natural definition of the vorticity of internal stress in a simple two-dimensional model of elasto-plastic fluids, which generates the internal stress. We demonstrate how the internal stress is induced under external loading, and how the presence of the internal stress modifies the plastic behavior.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure