Striped Twisted State in the Orientational Epitaxy on Quasicrystals

N Manini and M Forzanini and S Pagano and M Bellagente and M Colombo and D Bertazioli and T Salvalaggio and A Vanossi and D Vanossi and E Panizon and E Tosatti and GE Santoro, PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, 134, 066202 (2025).

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.066202

The optimal "twisted" geometry of a crystalline layer on a crystal has long been known, but that on a quasicrystal is still unknown and open. We predict analytically that the layer equilibrium configuration will generally exhibit a nonzero misfit angle. The theory perfectly agrees with numerical optimization of a colloid monolayer on a quasiperiodic decagonal optical lattice. Strikingly different from crystal-on-crystal epitaxy, the structure of the novel emerging twisted state exhibits an unexpected stripe pattern. Its high anisotropy should reflect on the tribomechanical properties of this unconventional interface.

Return to Publications page