Nucleation of quasi-crystalline and amorphous structures

Summary The structural characteristics of quasi-crystalline phases obtained by ion irradiation are compared with those of the corresponding amorphous structures. Chemical forces drive the formation of atomic clusters and their spatial organization under specific geometric constraints. The same elementary structural units exist in quasi-crystalline and glassy phases which display identical local order, their main difference being the degree of defect organization at the interface between locally ordered atomic groups. To speed up publication, the author of this paper has agreed to not receive the proofs for correction.