Quasicrystals, Softcover reprint of hardcover 1st ed. 2002 An Introduction to Structure, Physical Properties and Applications Springer Series in Materials Science Series, Vol. 55

The book provides an introduction to all aspects of the physics of quasicrystals. The chapters, each written by an expert in this field, cover quasiperiodic tilings and the modeling of the atomic structure of quasicrystals. The electronic density of states and the calculation of the electronic structure play a key role in this introduction, as does an extensive discussion of the atomic dynamics. The study of defects in quasicrystals by high resolution electron microscopy and the computer simulations of defects and fracture in decorated tilings are important subjects for the application of these aperiodic crystals.

1 Prehistory of Quasicrystals.- 2 A Guide to Mathematical Quasicrystals.- 3 Aperiodic Tilings on the Computer.- 4 Quasicrystallography.- 5 Experimental Determination of the Structure of Quasicrystalline Alloys: Experimental Techniques and Modeling.- 6 Electron Microscopy and Surface Investigations of Quasicrystals.- 7 Structure of Quasicrystals via Pair Potentials.- 8 Quasicrystals as Hierarchical Packing of Overlapping Clusters.- 9 Modeling Quasicrystal Growth.- 10 Production of Quasicrystalline Alloys and Phase Diagrams.- 11 Undercooling of Quasicrystal-Forming Liquid Alloys.- 12 Phasons, Dislocations, and Cracks.- 13 Defects.- 14 Ion Channeling in Quasicrystals.- 15 Mechanical Properties of Quasicrystals.- 16 Electronic Conductivity of Quasicrystals and Approximants.- 17 Electron Densities of States in Quasicrystals and Approximants.- 18 Electronic Transport Properties of Quasicrystalline Thin Films.- 19 Electron Transport in a Magnetic Field: A Landauer-Formula Approach.- 20 Phonons and Electrons in Quasicrystals.- 21 Computer Simulations of Lattice Dynamics in Quasicrystals.- 22 Experimental Determination of the Dispersion of Vibrations in Monodomain Quasicrystalline Alloys.- 23 Vibrational Density of States of Stable and Metastable Quasicrystalline Alloys.- 24 Thermodynamics of Quasicrystals.- 25 Magnetic Properties of Quasicrystals and Approximants.- 26 Bulk and Surface Properties of Quasicrystalline Materials and Their Potential Applications.- A Further Reading: Literature on Quasicrystals.