Quasicrystals

This book provides an interdisciplinary guide to quasicrystals, the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry winning topic, by presenting an up-to-date and detailed introduction to the many fundamental aspects and applications of quasicrystals science. It reviews the most characteristic features of the peculiar geometric order underlying their structure and their reported intrinsic physical properties, along with their potential for specific applications. The role of quasiperiodic order in science and technology is also examined by focusing on the new design capabilities provided by this novel ordering of matter. This book is specifically devoted to promoting the very notion of quasiperiodic order, and to spur its physical implications and technological capabilities. It, therefore, explores the fundamental aspects of intermetallic, photonic, and phononic quasicrystals, as well as soft-matter quasicrystals, including their intrinsic physical and structural properties. In addition, it thoroughly discusses experimental data and related theoretical approaches to explain them, extending the standard treatment given in most current solid state physics literature. It also explores exciting applications in new technological devices of quasiperiodically ordered systems, including multilayered quasiperiodic systems, along with 2D and 3D designs, whilst outlining new frontiers in quasicrystals research. This book can be used as a reader-friendly introductory text for graduate students, in addition to senior scientists and researchers coming from the fields of physics, chemistry, materials science, and engineering. Key features: ¿ Provides an updated and detailed introduction to the interdisciplinary field of quasicrystals in a tutorial style, considering both fundamental aspects and additional freedom degrees provided by designs based on quasiperiodically ordered materials. ¿ Includes 50 fully worked out exercises with detailed solutions, motivating, and illustrating the different concepts and notions to provide readers with further learning opportunities. ¿ Presents a complete compendium of the current state of the art knowledge of quasicrystalline matter, and outlines future next generation materials based on quasiperiodically ordered designs for their potential use in useful technological devices. Dr. Enrique Maciá-Barber is Professor of condensed matter physics at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. His research interests include the thermoelectric properties of quasicrystals and DNA biophysics. In 2010 he received the RSEF- BBVA Foundation Excellence Physics Teaching Award. His book Aperiodic Structures in Condensed Matter: Fundamentals and Applications (CRC Press, Boca-Raton, 2009) is one of the Top Selling Physics Books according to YBP Library Services.