The annealing of deformed potassium

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The stage B (15 K) recovery process in cold-worked potassium (which accounts for about 40% of the total recovery) is described by a new microscopic model of point-defect annealing. The extreme width and complex strain dependence of this stage are explained by a model in which vacancies and di-vacancies anneal to dislocation sinks. The point defects are considered to be originally deposited at random inside narrow ‘pipe-like” regions which are slightly diffused versions of the strings in which point-defects are usually thought to be deposited by cold-work. The dense initial vacancy distribution in these pipes gives rise to a high probability of vacancy combination and hence enhances the initial rate of vacancy annealing.