Freezing of polydisperse hard spheres is studied by Monte Carlo simulation
and the results are interpreted with a cell model of the solid. The results
supplement an earlier study of freezing of nearly monodisperse hard sphere
s and, within the assumption of a substitutionally disordered solid, a comp
lete description of the freezing behavior is obtained. The density and poly
dispersity of the precipitate are characterized by a single curve, regardle
ss of the composition of the fluid from which it is formed. Fractionation e
nables a fluid of arbitrary polydispersity to precipitate a solid of small
polydispersity, dispeling the long-held notion of a fluid-phase "critical"
polydispersity, beyond which it cannot form a solid. Nevertheless, a primar
y conclusion from the previous study is confirmed: a solid crystalline phas
e of polydispersity exceeding 5.7% of the average sphere diameter cannot be
precipitated from a fluid phase. [S1063-651X(98)04312-8].