Continuous Distributions of Dislocations: A New Application of the Methods of Non-

Riemannian Geometry
Author(s): B. A. Bilby, R. Bullough, E. Smith
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical
Sciences, Vol. 231, No. 1185 (Aug. 22, 1955), pp. 263-273
Published by: The Royal Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/99752
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 Hertzian electromagnetic potentials 263
Luneburg, R. K. 1947-8 Propagation of electromagnetic waves (Mimeographed lecture notes).
New York University.
Pauli, W. 1940 Phys. Rev. 58, 716.
Righi, A. I9go Nuovo Cim. 2, 104.
Schelkunoff, S. A. I943 Electromagnetic waves, p. 382. New York: van Nostrand.
Sommerfeld, A. 1927 In Frank & v. Mises, Riemann-Webers Differentialgleichungen der
Physik, 2, 497. Braunschweig: Vieweg.
Sommerfeld, A. 1935 In Frank & v. Mises, Riemann-Webers Differentialgleichungen der
Physik, 2nd ed. 2, 790. Braunschweig: Vieweg.
Theimer, O., Wassermann, G. D. & Wolf, E. 1952 Proc. Roy. Soc. A, 212, 426.
Whittaker, E. T. 1903 Proc. Lond. Math. Soc. 1, 367.
Wolf, E. I95I Rep. Progr. Phys. 14, 95.

Continuous distributions of dislocations: a new application

of the methods of non-Riemannian geometry
BY B. A. BILBY, R. BULLOUGH AND E. SMITH

Metallurgy Department, The University, Sheffield

(Communicated by J. M. Whittaker, F.R.S.-Received 28 March 1955)

When describing a crystal containing an arbitrary distribution of dislocation lines it is often

convenient to treat the distribution as continuous, and to specify the state of dislocation as
a function of position. Formally, however, there is then no 'good crystal' anywhere, and
difficulties arise in defining Burgers circuits and the dislocation tensor. The dislocated state
may be defined precisely by relating the local basis at each point to that of a reference lattice.
The dislocation density may then be defined; it is important to distinguish this from the local
dislocation density. The geometry of the continuously dislocated crystal is most conveniently
analyzed by treating the manifold of lattice points in the final state as a non-Riemannian one
with a single asymmetric connexion. The coefficients of connexion may be expressed in terms
of the generating deformations relating the dislocated crystal to the reference lattice. The
tensor defining the local dislocation density is then the torsion tensor associated with the
asymmetric connexion. Some properties of the connexion are briefly discussed and it is
shown that it possesses that of distant parallelism, in conformity with the requirement that
the dislocated lattice be everywhere unique.

1. INTRODUCTION

Consider a crystal containing an arbitrary distribution of dislocation lines. In

general, the dislocation distribution will have stresses which are not zero when
averaged over distances I large compared to the mean spacing d of the dislocations.
If they can, the dislocations in a real crystal will adjust their positions to reduce
these far-reaching stresses (for example, in the phenomenon of polygonization).
Several authors have recently discussed the problem of finding the arrangement of
dislocations to be expected when a crystal is deformed under given geometrical and
physical conditions, and have emphasized its importance for the quantitative
development of dislocation theory (Nye 1953; Read 1953, I954; Basinski & Christian
I954; Paxton & Cottrell I954; Bilby I955). Nye has given an analysis of this
problem when it is assumed that the above average of the far-reaching stresses is
264 B. A. Bilby, R. Bullough and E. Smith

zero. Although in the real crystal the dislocation lines are discrete, it is convenient
mathematically to treat the distribution as a continuous one, and to introduce
a dislocation density which is a function of position. This may be done by considering
an element of the solid containing many dislocation lines, and using a limiting
process in which the number of dislocations becomes infinite, while their strengths
tend to zero (Nye 1953). The discrete and continuous cases are analogous respectively
to cyclic irrotational motion and vortex motion in hydrodynamics (Bilby 1955).
The latter author has pointed out, however, that if the distribution is regarded as
continuous there are formal difficulties in defining the Burgers circuit and its
associated closure failure, since there is no longer 'good crystal' (Frank I95I)
anywhere. In the present paper, it is shown how these difficulties can be resolved,
and the foundations laid of a general theory of continuously dislocated crystals. In
order to do this it is convenient to make use of certain concepts of the theory of
generalized spaces, and particularly of the idea of the torsion of a space with
asymmetric connexion (Cartan 1923). Indeed, it may be said that when the formal
transition to the continuously dislocated state is made, the geometry of the resulting
lattice is most conveniently described by using the idea of a 'dislocated' space. In
analyzing the physical problem, it is natural to treat the distribution of dislocations
as continuous. It is thus very interesting to find so direct an application of the above
geometrical theories, used hitherto by Einstein (1928) and subsequent workers in
unified field theories of gravitation and electrodynamics.
Finally, it is to be noted that Nabarro (I952) has used the term 'continuous
distribution of dislocations' to describe a state considered by Eshelby (I 95 ). The
latter's analysis is concerned with the internal stress in a solid whose elements are
given a prescribed plastic strain and which are then fitted together by elastic
deformation only.* Such elements can be fitted together without stress in a
Riemannian space (with symmetric connexion) of appropriate metric tensor. The
analysis of the present paper, like that of Nye (I953) for the rotation case, is con-
cerned essentially with the geometrical description of the crystal lattice in the
final state.

2. THE CONNEXION OF THE MANIFOLD CORRESPONDING TO

VANISHING LATTICE STRAINS

To show how the ideas of generalized space arise, consider first the case where in
the final dislocated state, the crystal lattice is everywhere unstrained. That is,
locally, it appears the same as that of an unstrained reference crystal. Let the
points of the continuously dislocated crystal be referred to fixed orthogonal
Cartesian axes Yi. Then the state of the lattice at any point can be specified (Nye
I953) by a set of nine quantities Kj, indicating the small lattice rotations d,
about the three axes accompanying a small movement dyj:
di = Kijdyj (1)
If a fixed crystallographic direction is now followed through the crystal, its actual
direction in space will be different at each point because the lattice rotation varies.
* Kroener (1955) has also given a discussion based on magnetic analogies.
 Continuous distributions of dislocations 265
Let d6i be the change in the Yi components of a lattice vector i accompanying
a movement dyi. In this movement the lattice rotates instantaneously an amount
I dqi I about the unit vector dqi/ I dqi 1. By regarding the vector 6i as carried round
with the lattice in this motion, it follows at once that
d6i = eirsdors, (2)
where ei, has the value + 1 or - 1 according as irs is an even or odd permutation
of the numbers 1, 2, 3. It is interesting to compare the derivation of this formula
with a discussion of the idea of parallelism with respect to a surface (Levi-Civita
1950), which employs similar kinematical reasoning.
Using (1), (2) may be written
di= -eisrKrtsdyt. (3)
This equation gives the difference in the components on the fixed Cartesian axes
of two neighbouring vectors at points yi and yi + dyi of the final dislocated crystal
which have the same crystallographic components with respect to the local lattice
basis at these points. It thus defines a correspondence between vectors of this kind
drawn from neighbouring points in the crystal. If the totality of lattice vectors is
considered at two neighbouring points, this correspondence is clearly the most
natural one to adopt in order to connect the two sets of vectors. It can thus be used to
define a law of parallel transport for lattice vectors of the dislocated crystal, and
hence to establish a linear connexion for the manifold of lattice points. Of course, the
lattice vectors thus connected by the parallel transport law are not parallel in
ordinary space. Nevertheless, as will appear, it is convenient to analyze the dis-
located crystal by using a geometry which takes this connexion as its fundamental
law of parallelism. The underlying reason for this is that dislocation theoryis founded
on the idea of the Burgers circuit (Frank I95 ) which consists of a series of
crystallographic steps, each made with respect to the local crystal axes. Similarly,
the meaning of the above parallel transport law is that observers at two neighbouring
points moving in parallel directions according to their local reference frames, in fact
move in directions connected by the relation (3). In the present discussion, when it
is necessary to distinguish the parallelism of this law from the ordinary parallelism
of real space, the latter will be qualified by the phrase 'in the Euclidean sense'.
The coefficients of linear connexion introduced by this law of parallelism are
Lt = CisrK, (4)
where, although the reference system is orthogonal Cartesian, the i index has been
written as a superscript in accordance with the usual convention. This connexion
is not in general symmetric in s and t, and the resulting geometry is therefore
a non-Riemannian geometry (Eisenhart I927). The quantity

Ait=(Lst- Li) (5)

is the torsion tensor associated with the connexion (Cartan 1923). From Ai the
tensor density diq = eqstAi (6)
can be formed. It is readily verified that the relations between Ki and zdiq are,
except for a difference in sign arising from the Burgers vector conventions, the same
266 B. A. Bilby, R. Bullough and E. Smith
as those derived by Nye (I953) between Kx and the quantity acj which he calls the
dislocation tensor. It will be shown in a later paper, however, where the relation
between Nye's analysis and the present one is considered in detail, that Wiq does
not, in the general case, obey all the relations given by Nye.
In the above analysis the lattice at each point of the dislocated crystal differs
from that of an undislocated reference crystal by an arbitrary rotation, and the
final crystal, though dislocated, is locally unstrained. In the next section a more
general analysis in which lattice strain is allowed will be given.

3. THE GENERAL LINEAR CONNEXION

In order to allow for lattice strains, the definition of the dislocated state will be
modified, and the idea of a reference lattice introduced. In the present discussion,
it is not important to consider the physical cause of the lattice strain, which may
arise both because there is a state of internal stress, and because the lattice is
naturally different in different regions. The latter case, however, is of particular
interest because the surface dislocations derived from it correspond to boundaries
between two different lattices (Bilby i955). To define the dislocated crystal, choose
at each point P three independent basic vectors ea(P) (a = 1, 2, 3). This choice must
be made continuously throughout the crystal so that the ea(P) are always the same
crystallographic vectors. By comparing the vectors ea(P) with the corresponding
ones c,(P) of a standard reference lattice, the former can be expressed in terms of
the latter at each point of the dislocated crystal:

ea(P) = Da(P) c(P). (7)

It is assumed that the Da are single-valued functions and 'Moebius crystals' (Frank
1951) are thus excluded. Since the ea(P) are not co-planar, the matrix DO is non-
singular so that its reciprocal, E6(P), can be defined:
Dx(P) E(P)= b, (8)

E3(P) D(P)= (9)

The reference lattice may be the ordinary triclinic Bravais lattice of crystallography.
The dislocated state can, however, be defined with respect to the local basis c, of
a curvilinear co-ordinate system, which may be called a curvilinear lattice. Since
c, now varies from point to point, the reference lattice must be superposed on the
final dislocated crystal, and in setting up the relation (7) the bases ea and c, always
compared at the same point P. The quantities D,(P) and E}(P) are functions of
position in the dislocated crystal, and if xx are the general curvilinear co-ordinates
of the point P, not necessarily with respect to the cL system as basis, it is assumed
that these quantities have continuous derivatives of the first and second orders in
the xx system. Cases where these continuity conditions are relaxed can be treated as
singularities in the Da field, giving rise, for example, to surface dislocations (Bilby
I955)-
It is convenient to regard (7) as a deformation generating the lattice vectors
drawn from a point P in the final state from the vectors of the reference lattice. It is
 Continuous distributions of dislocations 267

most important to observe, however, that no neighbourhood of the point P in the

dislocated state is so generated, and that the relation (7) refers to the point P only.
Thus the vector W6ca(P) becomes the vector paea(P), where a--pa, the sign
- indicating numerical equality between corresponding components. This relation
is true for finite or infinitesimal vectors drawn from P, for the vectors ea(P) define
the affine space 'tangent' at P to the variety formed by the lattice points of the final
state (Cartan 1923).
The difference between two vectors paea(P) and qaea(Q) drawn from two neigh-
bouring points P and Q, and with the same local crystallographic components,
pa_ qa, will now be expressed as a vector drawn from the point P. These vectors will
be generated from vectors of the reference lattice having the same numerical
components in the bases c,(P) and c~(Q); let their components with respect to these
bases be in the final state, ~(P) and V(Q) respectively.
Then
A(P) Ea(P) = pakqa = WA(Q) E(Q)

and hence 6'cf(P) -= (Q) cA(Q) -^(P) c,(P)

= a(P)[EA(P) D(Q) c,(Q) - CA(P)].
Let s be a parameter defining position along a curve in the dislocated crystal.
Then on expanding about the point P, and retaining only first-order quantities,

8WC,(P) = VA(P) Ea(P) dx . (10)

c,(P) [aCx(+
aXv (P)
A)
axr(p)(Pl)]
Cl)J ds -
To simplify this expression, take the curvilinear co-ordinate system x' to be that
c" based on the reference lattice c. Then

~?Y (p) {A}(C)c(P),

where {$A} are the Christoffel symbols of the second kind calculated from the
metric tensor associated with the co-ordinates c, and evaluated at P (Sokolnikoff
195 ). Finally, therefore,
___ a aDa (1a 1 dcr
A
aa
= +w t (11)

where all quantities are associated with the point P only. This expression is the
intrinsic derivative of a lattice vector of the final state which has everywhere the
same local crystallographic components, and whose components in the c< system
are Ia. The change in TM arises from a specified variation in the local Ia components
caused by the variation of Da, which appears as the first term in the square bracket,
and a variation caused by the changing basis ca, which appears as the second. From
this point of view, the geometry of the lattice in the dislocated crystal can be
analyzed by treating the lattice as an arrangement of curves in ordinary space (in
fact, of congruences of curves), using the above law to follow curves along which
the local crystallographic direction is constant. As has been indicated in ?2, however,
because of the close connexion between the idea of torsion and of the continuously
268 B. A. Bilby, R. Bullough and E. Smith
dislocated state, it is more instructive to use a different geometry, and to use (11)
to establish a linear connexion and a law of parallelism for the manifold of the final
lattice points. The law of parallelism determines the increment 8I to be added to
the co-ordinates (' of a lattice vector aca(P) drawn from P in order to obtain the
co-ordinates (6a+ 8a) of the parallel lattice vector (W + 6M)c,(Q) at Q. This
increment is given by the first term in the right-hand side of the equation (11). The
coefficients of connexion LIZ/thus defined are therefore

L, (C) =-E a_ a (12)

It is now easy to verify that when the co-ordinates and reference lattice are
changed, the L;, transform in the correct manner. If ca, ce are the new quantities,

Da(C) = a aADA()

with a reciprocal relation for E6(C). Substituting these relations in (12) and using
(9) and the relations obtained by differentiating the equations
ac ac =
3cWac5
the required relation is obtained at once:

L(C)L4(C
= A%^()ac+aC
- ac1 (13)
__cccP tac+ ac-acy

In view of (9) the coefficients of connexion (12) may also be written

La Da E- (14)

Equations (12) and (14) define the connexion for a vector ~a of the direct lattice,
which has been taken to be contravariant. It is now readily shown by considering
the generation of the dislocated reciprocal lattice, that the manifold of final lattice
points is one with single connexion, that is, it is contraction-invariant (Synge &
Schild I949). Thus, if d&(P), fa(P) are the bases reciprocal to ca(P) and ea(P)
respectively, the reciprocal generating deformations are given by
do(P) _f a(p) = d(P) Ea(P),
and da(P) 9,(P) becomes fa(P)pa = d(P) 9(P),
where Pa --. Thus 8& - (Q) - a(P)
EaI dcI
Pa-C (p)
acr (p) dss8
= D, a(P)ajEj (P) ds( s
-D9=- acy
8. M
.or d.(15dc)
or = M~ay.~-8&. (15)
 Continuous distributions of dislocations 269

Thus the connexion for the parallel transport of a covariant vector is given by
MA = +L (16)
This is the required relation for a space of single connexion (Synge & Schild I949).

4. THE DEFINITION OF THE BURGERS VECTOR AND THE

DISLOCATION TENSOR

In this section expressions will be derived for the closure failure associated with
an infinitesimal Burgers circuit, or with an oriented element of area, in the dislocated
crystal. Before this can be done it is necessary to establish two conventions of sign.
The extension of the idea of the Burgers circuit required to discuss the continuously
dislocated state follow naturally from the ideas used in the discrete case when 'good
crystal' exists (Frank I95 ). To define the Burgers vector, a closed circuit of lattice
steps is executed in the real lattice. Beginning from a point S in a perfect reference
lattice, the crystallographically equivalent steps are then repeated. In general,
their vector sum is no longer zero, and the associated circuit is not closed but
terminates at a point F. The Burgers vector associated with the closed circuit of
the real crystal is the vector of the reference crystal required to complete the circuit.
Either the vector FS or SF may be used, and here the former convention is adopted.
If the Burgers circuit bounds an oriented element of area or encircles dislocation
lines, the sense of description of the circuit must be related to the sense of the area
normal, or the dislocation lines. Here the convention is adopted that these senses
are related in the same way as a right hand screw. The Burgers vector convention
may thus be summarized by the symbol FS/RH.
If a dislocation enters or leaves a region of the real crystal where a Burgers circuit
has been drawn, the circuit opens. Strictly the displacement of its ends is not,
however, by the Burgers vector of the dislocation, but by that vector of the real
crystal at the point of entry or exit which corresponds to the Burgers vector (Frank
I95I). This vector is the local Burgers vector, and in the continuously dislocated
state here discussed it is important to distinguish between this vector, which is
a vector of the final state, and the Burgers vector, which is a vector of the reference
lattice. In the continuous case, if a Burgers vector is associated with an infinitesimal
circuit at P, the local Burgers vector of this circuit is the vector of the final state
generated from the Burgers vector by the deformation Da at P.
An equivalent definition of the local Burgers vector is that it is the closure failure
associated with a closed circuit in the reference lattice which is repeated in the
dislocated crystal. With this definition, if the Burgers vector and the local Burgers
vector are to have the same sense, an SF/RH convention must be used for the local
Burgers vector.
Suppose first that the reference lattice is an ordinary triclinic lattice (affine
lattice). The co-ordinates defined by it are thus Cartesian; to emphasize this
the quantities c., c,, Vo and TMin ?3 are here replaced by a,, a~, dax and ea
respectively, and the generating deformations Da(P), E5(P) are written Da(A, P),
Eb(A, C1I an
P). To obtain
fll~1j.IVVh ~1~Ll~i~VlIIUL Burgers vector
expression for the ULljl~VC\ ~~VIVU with
V associated an oriented
V VI~IV171~A
270 B. A. Bilby, R. Bullough and E. Smith
element of area in the dislocated crystal at P, draw an infinitesimal circuit F about it,
beginning and ending at some point Q whose co-ordinates are d(%). The typical
element of this circuit at any point R on it is the step
dd a = dd'AE (A,
R) e(R).
The corresponding step in the reference lattice has the same numerical components
in the a. system as this has in the ea(R) system. It is, therefore, ddaaa, where
dda d AEa(A, R). (17)
The closure failure FS is thus minus the sum of the small vectors dsaaa. This sum
may be expressed as a line integral round the closed circuit F by substituting for
ddj the expression dd/AEa(A, R), which is numerically equal to it, and noting that
the ddA steps form, by hypothesis, a closed circuit in the a, system. Thus,
FS = Ba,a

= (-j daAE (A R) aa, (18)

where the d/a have been replaced in the integrand by da", since these quantities
are both small vectors of the a. system, the distinction between them being merely
one of interpretation. Using Stokes's theorem,

22FS aaA
--_a,
- ) dA )aa. (19)

In the limit then, when E -> 0, the components of the Burgers vector associated with
the element of area dAAMare
B
x(EAA)n A( ) n _ da(A.
Ma(A)
1 aEI
_2LXa,/(A) dA'l(.
2\ a 3aa pdA , (20)

Here dAM = da;Sa/ - da/5aA is the tensor element of area in the a, system, the
area element normal being in the direction

dA, -2e,dAa. (21)

The local Burgers vector associated with this element at P is the vector of the final
state generated from Ba, that is, the vector YS(A) a, where
Sf(A) - Ba(A) Da(A, P)
= Td,(A)dAfP (22)
and Ta~(A) 'DW(A) aEa(A)
- a3EA (2
and Ty(A) = ?Da (A)[( 8a( )'. (23)

As is seen from (14) TA,(A) are the components in the a. system of the torsion tensor
associawith the connexion defined by Da(A), Eb(A).
In applications the components of the dislocation density are often required
in a curvilinear co-ordinate system. If such a system is introduced by the trans-
formation aaA
=
ca a
 Continuous distributions of dislocations 271
the quantities D a(A)and E (A) transform like sets of contravariant and covariant
vectors respectively. Then it is easily shown that

Ya(A) a, = T:,(A) dAPra,

= TY,(C) dCfyc, (24)
where Tj,(C) is the torsion tensor associated with the connexion (14) defined by
Da(C), Eb(C). Thus in any system of co-ordinates co, the components of the local
Burgers vector (defined with respect to an affine reference lattice) associated with
an oriented element of area, are obtained by calculating from the generating
deformations connecting the bases c, and ea the torsion tensor of the connexion
(14). In the ea system the components of the local Burgers vector are
T7y(C) dCfl
=
o/a(e) E,(C)

l
=2^ (25)
2 (8Ea4(-f/v\
acr a-y(AdCfly
7cld

as follows also by transformation of (20). If then a' is any affine reference lattice
the Burgers vector associatedwith dCPris Ba(A') a', where BA(A')i-a(e). The com-
ponents of the Burgers vector (defined with respect to an affine reference lattice) are
thus given by an expression of the form (20) for any co-ordinate system. The actual
vector obtained depends of course on the (affine) reference lattice used.
The preceding discussion has been based on a definition of the Burgers vector
with respect to an affine reference lattice. If the lattice is curvilinear, then, as
before, the closure failure FS is minus a sum of small vectors of the same form as
(17), namely, dWa(R)c(R) = dA(R) EA(C, R) ca(R).

Now, however, before the components with respect to the c, systems of these vectors
can be combined it is necessary to refer them all to the common basis ca(P). If
Aac,(P) is the vector PR:

da(RB) Ca(E)=
[,dW() + (} dfi(R) AJ ca(P).
On evaluating the line integral as in the previous treatment, additional terms now
appear,* and in the limit as Aa -- 0, the local Burgers vector is

Ya(C) c,(P) = [Ta(C) + { }

Da(C)E/(C) dC7yc(P). (26)

The additional terms are obviously zero when the reference lattice is affine, and
also when Da(C) =-a. Moreover, the study of simple examples shows that they are
not of physical interest. They arise, in fact, because the law of parallel transport
used for the reference lattice in this calculation is that based on the Christoffel

symbols | , , and so is in the Euclidean sense. If, however, a law similar to the
connexion (14) adopted for the final state is also used for the reference lattice, so
that c,(R) and c,,(P) are taken to be parallel, then the additional terms in (26)
* We are indebted to Mr A. R. Curtis for drawing our attention to this point.
272 B. A. Bilby, R. Bullough and E. Smith
disappear. When the definition of dislocation density is thus modified, formulae
of the same form as (20) and (22) hold also for Burgers vectors defined with respect
to a curved reference lattice.
The formula (20) may also be expressed in a vector notation. Thus, from (20)
and (21), B(C)- E() dA C)
1w ] ()
Ba"(C)-\--n dAa(
= -curl Ea. dA. (27)
Again, from (22) and (21),
=
x(C) e'PYdA,(C) Ta7(C)
-= -(C) dA,(C),
where -01(C) is a tensor density. This corresponds to the relation in orthogonal
Cartesian co-ordinates given by Nye (1953):
BidS = cciljdS.

5. DIscussION
The preceding analysis shows how the idea of the Burgers circuit can be extended
to the continuously dislocated state, and the formal difficulty of the absence of
'good crystal' overcome.
An asymmetric connexion can be defined in terms of the generating deformations
relating the dislocated crystal to a reference lattice. The torsion of the resulting
manifold then measures directly the local dislocation density. The metric properties
of this manifold have not, however, been discussed explicitly. Since the final
dislocated crystal is in real space, its metric properties must in fact be those of
a Euclidean manifold. This has been assumed implicitly in the above analysis by
using a co-ordinate system based on the reference lattice (which may be an ordinary
triclinic lattice of crystallography) to describe the positions of the final lattice
points. As has been stated, the final lattice can therefore be regarded as a system of
congruences of curves in a Euclidean space. A manifold with a Euclidean metric
but asymmetric connexion has many unfamiliar properties. Its geodesics, or curves
of shortest length, are the straight lines of ordinary space, but its paths, or auto-
parallel curves, are not. Further, infinitesimal closed parallelograms do not exist
in it (Synge & Schild I949). It is this last property, of course, which is most
intimately connected with the continuously dislocated state. This is very clearly
seen by considering models of dislocated states made from wooden balls and
flexible curtain wire (Bilby I950).
Finally, it is an obvious physical requirement that the lattice be uniquely defined
everywhere; this means that the manifold must possess the property of distant
parallelism. It is readily verified that the affine curvature tensor

Laz =fS 7 + LTa

T L -L7 LTa
Hr8y aCY acoy
_ +y us

calculated from the connexion (14) is in fact zero, so that parallel transport of
lattice vectors over finite distances is independent of the path. This requirement
 Continuous distributions of dislocations 273
was, of course, written into the analysis by defining the final lattice vectors at
a point by unique generation from a reference lattice. It is also obvious from the
form of Ljy, which is characteristic of a space of distant parallelism (Einstein 1928;
Eisenhart I927). The connexion Lf, can in fact be deduced by requiring that the
set of fundamental vectors Da (a = 1, 2,3) be everywhere parallel (Thomas I934).
These questions, and the further development of the theory, will be treated in more
detail in subsequent papers.

We are indebted to Dr H. D. Deas and particularly to Mr A. R. Curtis for their

comments on the manuscript. We wish to thank the Department of Scientific and
Industrial Research for financial support (E. S.) and also the University of Sheffield
for the award of the C. G. Carlisle Scholarship (R. B.). The third author (B. A. B.) is
indebted to the Royal Society for the award of the Sorby Research Fellowship.

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