Molecular-dynamics study of interlayer incommensurability in adsorbed multilayers

Molecular-dynamics simulations on large multilayer systems with power-law edge potentials have independently shown commensurate-incommensurate transitions between layers. The large-scale mosaic of the incommensurate structure reconciles the simulations with neutron-diffraction experiments on the CH₄/graphite bilayer. The elastic character of the solid films suggests that many previous attempts to use ``rigid'' models to describe multilayers are insufficient to explain some of the thermodynamic and structural properties.