  Simulations are used to examine the microscopic origins of strain hardening
in polymer glasses. While traditional entropic network models can be fit to the
total stress, their underlying assumptions are inconsistent with simulation
results. There is a substantial energetic contribution to the stress that rises
rapidly as segments between entanglements are pulled taut. The thermal
component of stress is less sensitive to entanglements, mostly irreversible,
and directly related to the rate of local plastic arrangements. Entangled and
unentangled chains show the same strain hardening when plotted against the
microscopic chain orientation rather than the macroscopic strain.
