Dislocation cross slip and formation of terraces around nanoindentations in Au(001)

Dislocation configurations associated to the first stages of plastic deformation around a nanoindentation in a Au(001) surface are recognized and characterized. Dislocations with a screw component are shown to glide across {111} planes and by a cross-slip mechanism give rise to revolving terraces in the neighborhood of the nanoindentation trace with their edges parallel to compact $〈110〉$ directions. The standard dislocation theory for an elastic continuum is shown to adequately describe the dislocation configuration observed and to provide an explanation of the generation of the terraces.