Correlated phason jumps involved in plastic deformation of Al-Pd-Mn approximant phases

Structural defects obtained from plastic deformation Al-Pd-Mn approximant phases are examined on an atomic scale starting from the crystallographic structure of one approximant phase. A six-dimensional description of that phase is given by means of atomic surfaces with emphasis on a simple cluster analysis. The propagations of the defects are analysed in terms of individual atomic jumps of length less than 3 Å which are shown to correspond to phason jumps.