Abstract
We show that slowly sheared metallic nanocrystals deform via discrete strain bursts (slips), whose size distributions follow power laws with stress-dependent cutoffs. We show for the first time that plasticity reflects tuned criticality, by collapsing the stress-dependent slip-size distributions onto a predicted scaling function. Both power-law exponents and scaling function agree with mean-field theory predictions. Our study of 7 materials and 2 crystal structures, at various deformation rates, stresses, and crystal sizes down to 75 nm, attests to the universal characteristics of plasticity.
- Received 6 December 2011
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.095507
© 2012 American Physical Society