The validity of the structure-property relationships governing the deformation behavior of bcc metals was brought into question with recent {\it ab initio} density functional studies of isolated screw dislocations in Mo and Ta. These existing relationships were semiclassical in nature, having grown from atomistic investigations of the deformation properties of the groups V and VI transition metals. We find that the correct form for these structure-property relationships is fully quantum mechanical, involving the coupling of electronic states with the strain field at the core of long a/2<111> screw dislocations.
@article{arxiv.0808.2969,
title = {Electronic Selection Rules Controlling Dislocation Glide in bcc Metals},
author = {Travis E. Jones and Mark E. Eberhart and Dennis P. Clougherty and Chris Woodward},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0808.2969},
year = {2008}
}