On microscopic and mesoscopic scales, plastic flow of crystals is
characterized by large intrinsic fluctuations. Deformation by crystallographic
slip occurs in a sequence of intermittent bursts ('slip avalanches') with
power-law size distribution. In the spatial domain, these avalanches produce
characteristic deformation patterns in the form of slip lines and slip bands
which exhibit long-range spatial correlations. We propose a generic continuum
model which accounts for randomness in the local stress-strain relationships as
well as for long-range internal stresses that arise from the ensuing plastic
strain heterogeneities. The model parameters are related to the local dynamics
and interactions of lattice dislocations. The model explains experimental
observations on slip avalanches as well as the associated slip and surface
pattern morphologies