The statistical mechanics of kink interactions

Using a potential derived from continuum elasticity, the interactions between kinks on a dislocation line are studied as special cases of the problem of a one-dimensional system of interacting particles. By the use of constant pressure ensembles, the principal kink-interaction problems of physical interest are solved. The application of these solutions to the theoretical analyses of work hardening and internal friction is explored and comparisons made to previous work in which kink interactions were neglected; it is found that, as would be expected, variations of equilibrium kink populations with external stress cannot account for the Bordoni peak, which must therefore be identified with a relaxation time phenomenon. A new type of internal friction is predicted, with a logarithmic decrement independent of frequency by showing a sharp amplitude dependence opposite in slope to that previously predicted from consideration of kinks --Abstract, page ii