Effects of Galactic Irradiation on Thermal and Electronic Transport in Tungsten

TL;DR

This study investigates how low-energy irradiation-induced defects affect thermal and electronic transport in tungsten at the nanoscale, using advanced computational methods to provide detailed spatial and defect-dependent insights.

Contribution

It introduces the application of the Site-Projected Thermal Conductivity method and N2 electronic activity estimation to analyze irradiation effects on tungsten's transport properties.

Findings

Defects significantly alter thermal conductivity distribution.

Vacancies and grain boundaries influence electronic charge transport.

High-resolution mapping reveals defect-dependent transport behavior.

Abstract

The impact of irradiation on the thermal and electronic properties of materials is a persistent puzzle, particularly defect formation at the atomic and nanoscales. This work examines the nanoscale effects of low-energy irradiation on tungsten (W), focusing on defect-induced modifications to thermal and electronic transport. Using the Site-Projected Thermal Conductivity (SPTC) method [A. Gautam et al. PSS-RRL, 2400306, 2024], we analyze bulk and twin-grain boundary W with vacancy defects based on the Norgett-Robinson-Torrens displacements per atom (NRT-dpa) model. SPTC provides a detailed prediction of post-cascade spatial thermal conductivity distribution. We estimate electronic conductivity activity using the "N2 method" [K. Nepal et al. Carbon, 119711, 2025] to explore the consequences of vacancies and grain boundaries, highlighting the defect-dependent nature of charge transport behavior. These findings offer high-resolution insights into irradiation-driven transport phenomena, with implications for space-exposed materials and nanoscale thermal/electronic management.