Crystal structures of a core-softened system confined in a narrow slit pore

Abstract: We investigate a behavior of a core-softened system in a thin slit pore (the width of the pore is equil to three diameters of the particles). In previous studies it was shown that strongly confined systems form crystalline phases which consist of several triangular or square layers. These phases can be also considered as cuts of FCC or HCP structures. We show that the behavior of the core-softened system is more complex. We observe also a quasicrystalline phase. Moreover, the phase with two triangular layers appears at lower densities than the one with two square layers which is in contrast to the behavior of the systems studied before. These results demonstrate that the phase behavior of strongly confined systems can be even more complex than it was supposed before.