A hierarchical classification, of kink species in dislocation cores, was proposed which considered 3 sources of broken symmetry; the host lattice structure, the nature of the dislocation, and core reconstruction effects. Kink multiplicity in body-centered cubic and diamond cubic lattices was examined, and was directly confirmed by atomistic calculations which used interatomic potential models that were appropriate for Mo and Si. Much of the complexity of dislocation-kink mechanisms could be rationalized in terms of the predicted underlying causes of symmetry breaking.

V.V.Bulatov, J.F.Justo, W.Cai, S.Yip: Physical Review Letters, 1997, 79[25], 5042-5