  We develop an athermal shear-transformation-zone (STZ) theory of plastic
deformation in spatially inhomogeneous, amorphous solids. Our ultimate goal is
to describe the dynamics of the boundaries of voids or cracks in such systems
when they are subjected to remote, time-dependent tractions. The theory is
illustrated here for the case of a circular hole in an infinite two-dimensional
plate, a highly symmetric situation that allows us to solve much of the problem
analytically. In spite of its special symmetry, this example contains many
general features of systems in which stress is concentrated near free
boundaries and deforms them irreversibly. We depart from conventional
treatments of such problems in two ways. First, the STZ analysis allows us to
keep track of spatially heterogeneous, internal state variables such as the
effective disorder temperature, which determines plastic response to subsequent
loading. Second, we subject the system to stress pulses of finite duration, and
therefore are able to observe elasto-plastic response during both loading and
unloading. We compute the final deformations and residual stresses produced by
these stress pulses. Looking toward more general applications of these results,
we examine the possibility of constructing a boundary-layer theory that might
be useful in less symmetric situations.
