A comparative study of the atomic dynamics of decagonal and icosahedral AlPdMn

Abstract The generalized vibrational density of states (GVDOS) of decagonal Al 69.8 Pd 12.1 Mn 18.1 has been investigated by inelastic neutron scattering at the ILL in Grenoble for the first time. The data are compared to the GVDOS of the icosahedral phase Al 71 Pd 19 Mn 10 and to the crystalline phase Al 74 Pd 22 Mn 4 ( ξ ′ ). Whereas the contents of Al of these phases are nearly the same, the dynamic properties show remarkable differences. The two characteristic maxima in the GVDOS, which can be found for the icosahedral and for the structurally related crystalline phase ξ ′ , are not observed in the data of the decagonal phase. This indicates a significant difference in the local atomic structure of the decagonal and the icosahedral phase.