The possibility of structural defect generation in materials with the ideal crystal lattice under dynamic loading conditions in a broad temperature range was studied by means of molecular dynamics using the embedded atom method with many-body interatomic interaction potentials. It was shown that thermal fluctuations could lead to a jump-like nucleation of defects in the ideal crystal under high-rate deformation conditions. Features of the defect nucleation via this mechanism were analyzed for various temperatures and loading regimes.

Molecular-Dynamics Study of Crystal Structure Defect Formation by the Thermal Fluctuation Mechanism during High-Rate Deformation. S.G.Psakhie, K.P.Zolnikov, D.S.Kryzhevich, A.G.Lipnitskiĭ: Technical Physics Letters, 2006, 32[2], 101-2