One-Dimensional Quasicrystals from Incommensurate Charge Order

TL;DR

This paper introduces a theoretical framework for one-dimensional quasicrystals arising from incommensurate charge order, suggesting they can form in real materials and expanding the known classes of quasicrystals.

Contribution

It proposes a new class of one-dimensional quasicrystals based on incommensurate charge order, with a phase diagram indicating their potential realization in natural and artificial materials.

Findings

Theoretical phase diagram predicts conditions for quasicrystal formation.

Quasicrystalline states emerge from localized reciprocal space free-energy contributions.

Potential for widespread realization of one-dimensional quasicrystals in materials.

Abstract

Artificial quasicrystals are nowadays routinely manufactured, yet only two naturally occurring examples are known. We present a class of systems with the potential to be realized both artificially and in nature, in which the lowest energy state is a one-dimensional quasicrystal. These systems are based on incommensurately charge-ordered materials, in which the quasicrystalline phase competes with the formation of a regular array of discommensurations as a way of interpolating between incommensurate charge order at high temperatures and commensurate order at low temperatures. The nonlocal correlations characteristic of the quasicrystalline state emerge from a free-energy contribution localized in reciprocal space. We present a theoretical phase diagram showing that the required material properties for the appearance of such a ground state allow for one-dimensional quasicrystals to form in real materials. The result is a potentially wide class of one-dimensional quasicrystals.