Atomic dynamics and diffusion in decagonal quasicrystals

The atomic dynamics of decagonal Al-Ni-Co and Al-Cu-Co quasicrystals is investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. Depending on the local environments, the mobility of the atoms varies greatly from site to site. Above two thirds of the melting temperature, a large fraction of the aluminium atoms become so mobile, that their diffusion can be measured directly in the simulation. As aluminium diffusion is hard to access experimentally, molecular dynamics simulations therefore provide a unique way to study aluminium diffusion in these complex systems.