Quantum dynamics of a single dislocation

We discuss the zero temperature motions of an edge dislocation in a quantum solid (e.g., He4). If the dislocation has one kink (equal in length to its Burgers vector b) the kink has a creation energy U and can move along the line with a certain transfer integral t. When t and U are of comparable magnitude, two opposite kinks can form an extended bound state, with a size l. The overall shape of the dislocation in the ground state is then associated with a random walk of persistence length l (along the line) and hop sizes b. We also discuss the motions of kinks under an applied shear stress σ: the glide velocity is proportional to exp ( − σ * σ ) , where σ * is a characteristic stress, controlled by tunneling processes. To cite this article: P.-G. de Gennes, C. R. Physique 7 (2006).