Atomic model of decagonal quasicrystal approximants and phasons

Abstract

We investigate the atomic structure of model decagonal quasicrystals. Periodic crystalline structures which share the local structure of the decagonal phase model may represent equilibrium phases to which the quasicrystal transforms at low temperatures. Rearrangements of atoms within the unit cells constitute a ‘phason flip’ and result in only modest alterations of the local structure. Reconstructed electron densities reveal double peaks which appear to correspond to these phason displacements.