Fig. 4: Molecular dynamic simulations of twin nucleation.
From: Visualization and validation of twin nucleation and early-stage growth in magnesium
a Initial relaxed single crystal. b–d Nucleation of two twin nuclei at the corners on top surface. e–g Merge of two twin nuclei into a larger twin nucleus. h, i Propagation and growth of twin nucleus via migration of basal-prismatic (BP) and prismatic-basal (PB) interfaces. The symbol “Τ” indicates a basal <a> dislocation that is emitted from the PB interface. The bottom images of a–i are magnified images in the pillar top region. The rectangles in each image indicate locations associated with the enlarged images. The twin nucleus is surrounded by PB and BP interfaces. In the enlarged images, the yellow dashed lines indicate the BP interfaces, and the green dashed lines indicate the PB interfaces. Atoms are color coded according to their excess energy, with the lowest energy atoms appearing blue, while the highest energy atoms appear red.
