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arXiv · 1303.2679

Comment on "Giant Plasticity of a Quantum Crystal"

C. Zhou·C. Reichhardt·M. J. Graf·J. -J. Su·A. V. Balatsky·I. J. Beyerlein
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Abstract

In their Letter, Haziot et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 110 (2013) 035301] report a novel phenomenon of giant plasticity for hcp Helium-4 quantum crystals. They assert that Helium-4 exhibits mechanical properties not found in classical plasticity theory. Specifically, they examine high-quality crystals as a function of temperature and applied strain, where the shear modulus reaches a plateau and dissipation becomes close to zero; both quantities are reported to be independent of stress and strain, implying a reversible dissipation process and quantum tunneling. In this Comment, we show that these signatures can be explained with a classical model of thermally activated dislocation glide without the need to invoke quantum tunneling or dissipationless motion. Recently, we proposed a dislocation glide model in solid Helium-4 containing the dissipation contribution in the presence of other dislocations with qualitatively similar behavior [Zhou et al., Philos. Mag. Lett. 92 (2012) 608].

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C. Zhou, C. Reichhardt, M. J. Graf, J. -J. Su, A. V. Balatsky, I. J. Beyerlein. 2013-03-11. Comment on "Giant Plasticity of a Quantum Crystal". https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.111.119601

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