Dislocations in Anisotropic Media

Abstract

The role of computer calculations in the problems of solid state physics is the unifying topic at this conference. In dislocation theory there are in particular two types of problems that require computer calculations. The problems of the dislocation core is one important class of problems. Extensive relaxation calculations are necessary to determine from given interatomic potentials the atomic structure in and near the core, the core contributions to the dislocation energy, and the lattice resistance to dislocation motion. Some work on these problems has been done, and the paper of Bullough and Perrin [1] is a good example. The problems of the elastic strains and stresses outside the core is the other important class of problems, and at least for anisotropic media, extensive computer calculations are again needed in the general case. These are the problems we shall consider in this article. Of course, the elastic stresses will to some extent depend on the details of the core structure. However, the details of the core make themselves felt only in terms which decay much faster with distance from the core than the main terms. In this asymptotic sense, the elasticity problem is a well defined separate problem.