For decades, quasicrystals have puzzled scientists with their irregular yet beautifully ordered atomic layouts. Unlike traditional crystals, where atoms line up in a predictable, repeating pattern, quasicrystals create non‐repeating mosaics that are as intriguing as they are complex.
Recent research from the University of Michigan has shed light on this longstanding mystery. Woohyeon Baek, a doctoral student at UM, points out that understanding the stability of these unusual materials can reshape how we think about atomic order. Building on the legacy of Daniel Shechtman’s Nobel Prize‐winning work in the 1980s, this study finally confirms that quasicrystals aren’t just fleeting anomalies—they’re genuinely stable.
Traditional approaches like density functional theory (DFT) have struggled with the aperiodic nature of quasicrystals. To navigate this, the UM team simulated nanoparticles of these materials, allowing them to accurately calculate the bulk energy. Their results show that combinations such as scandium with zinc and ytterbium with cadmium can settle into energetically favourable, stable arrangements.
The computational challenge was significant. Doubling the number of atoms in a simulation increased the workload eightfold. The researchers overcame this by developing an algorithm that minimises inter-processor communication and leverages GPU acceleration—making the process up to 100 times faster, as noted by Professor Vikram Gavini. This breakthrough not only streamlines the study of quasicrystals but also opens up opportunities to explore other complex, non-repeating materials like amorphous solids and quantum devices.
Published in Nature Physics, this work offers clear evidence of quasicrystals’ stable nature and invites further exploration into advanced materials that could one day power quantum computing and other innovative technologies.
