Dislocation dynamics in Rayleigh-Bénard convection.

Abstract

Theoretical results on the dynamics of dislocations in Rayleigh-Bénard convection are reported both for a Swift-Hohenberg model and the Oberbeck-Boussinesq equations. For intermediate Prandtl numbers the motion of dislocations is found to be driven by the superposition of two independent contributions: (i) the Peach-Koehler force and (ii) an advection force on the dislocation core by its self-generated mean flow. Their competition allows to explain the experimentally observed bound dislocation pairs.