Dislocation half-loops which intersected the surface were detected by scanning tunneling microscopy after mild sputtering onto Au(100). Their structure and formation energy were determined by means of atomistic simulations. The Peierls barrier was also estimated from the simulations, and was found to amount to a few meV. This represented a very efficient way of moving mass parallel to the surface under an applied stress; where the net movement of hundreds of atoms could take place over barriers that were lower than that for the diffusion of a single adatom. No thermal diffusion was observed.

Properties of Dislocation Half-Loops in Au(100) - Structure, Formation Energy and Diffusion Barrier. F.El Gabaly, R.Miranda, J.de la Figuera: Physical Review B, 2004, 70[1], 012102 (4pp)