Glass as a Medium with a High Density of Topological Defects

Abstract

A mechanism for the appearance of shear rigidity is proposed for disordered systems, the structure of which can be described as a medium with a high density of linear topological defects. This mechanism consists in kink localization in dislocation lines, which limits their mobility. This approach can be used to determine the temperature dependence of plastic deformation, to relate it to the fractal dimension of a set of defects, and to explain the dependence of the glass transition temperature on the cooling rate.