Surface phonons in quasicrystals

Phonons describe the excitations and eigenstates of atomic motions in solids. Since atomic motions are easily visualized, phonons often serve as an introduction to the less tangible electronic states. In this article, we will review results from surface phonon measurements and present calculations for simple spring models to discuss the impact of quasicrystallinity on the interpretation of phonon measurements. Through this, some fundamental aspects of phonons as well electronic states in quasicrystals are illustrated.