Dislocation nucleation and dynamics were observed in a two-dimensional plasma crystal. The observations were performed in real time at the atomistic (kinetic) level, and the basic stages of edge dislocation nucleation were identified and studied: from the gradual pile-up of shear strain in the crystal to the eventual escape of free dislocations. Following nucleation, the dislocations moved supersonically with respect to the shear waves, generating shear-wave Mach cones.

Dislocation Nucleation and Motion Observed in a Plasma Crystal. V.Nosenko, S.Zhdanov, G.Morfill: Philosophical Magazine, 2008, 88[30-32], 3747-55