Growth, melting, and clustering of icosahedral quasicrystals: Monte Carlo simulations

Details of the three-dimensional Monte Carlo simulations for atomic growth (up to 10(6) atoms) and melting of icosahedral quasicrystals are presented. The local atomic order is supposed to be similar to that found in crystall ine approximants of quasicrystals whereas the quasiperiodic long-range stru cture arises during the growth process according to statistical and energet ical criteria. The complementary picture in the perpendicular space is foun d to be very informative for better understanding of quasicrystal formation . It is shown that melting of quasicrystals is accompanied by formation of large atomic clusters on the surface (the clustering is less pronounced for growth). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.