We use molecular dynamics to show that plastic slip is a crucial component of the transformation mechanism of a square-to-triangular structural transition. The latter is a stylized analog of many other reconstructive phase transitions. To justify our conclusions we use an atomistically informed mesoscopic representation of the field of lattice distortions in molecular dynamics simulations. Our approach reveals a hidden alternating slip distribution behind the seemingly homogeneous product phase which points to the fact that lattice-invariant shears play a central role in this class of phase transformations. While the underlying pattern of antiparallel displacements may be also interpreted as microscopic shuffling, its precise crystallographic nature strongly suggests the plasticity-centered interpretation.

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• Continuum mechanics
• Phase transitions
• Plasticity
• Solid-solid transformations
• Finite-element method
• Group theory
• Molecular dynamics
• Multiscale modeling