The nudged elastic band method is used to calculate the activation paths co
nnecting jumps between the two degenerate states A and B of the screw dislo
cation core in body-centred cubic (bcc) iron. Kink-pairs are found to be in
volved in all such jumps. By comparing the activation energies, it is shown
that the jump from state A to state B on the {101} plane is not the same a
s that from B to A, and whichever is easier depends on the direction of the
applied stress. This asymmetry results in a characteristic zigzag pattern
of slip, and forms the basis of an explanation for pencil glide at elevated
temperatures. The activation energy of the rate-determining jump is found
to decrease with increasing stress, but the predicted flow stress is about
three rimes greater than the experimental value at all temperatures. (C) 20
00 Acta Metallurgica Inc. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights res
erved.