Abstract
The temperature dependence of x-ray peak intensities of icosahedral AlCuFe is studied in detail. Above 670 °C, measurements of the Debye-Waller factor suggest the presence of dynamical phasons. Softening of the phason modes drives a structural transition at ∼670 °C below which the quasicrystal decomposes into coherent micrograins of a lower-symmetry phase. Implications for quasicrystal stability are discussed.

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