Low temperature diffusivity of self-interstitial defects in tungsten

The low temperature diffusivity of nanoscale crystal defects, where quantum mechanical fluctuations are known to play a crucial role, are essential to interpret observations of irradiated microstructures conducted at cryogenic temperatures. Using density functional theory calculations, quantum heat bath molecular dynamics and open quantum systems theory, we evaluate the low temperature diffusivity of self-interstitial atom clusters in tungsten valid down to temperatures of 1 K. Due to an exceptionally low defect migration barrier, our results show that interstitial defects exhibit very high diffusivity of order 10(3)mu m(2)s(-1)over the entire range of temperatures investigated.