Surface freezing on patterned substrates

We show that the structure of a substrate pattern drastically influences th e nature of surface freezing. By using phenomenological theory and computer simulations of a hard sphere fluid next to a substrate formed by a periodi c array of fixed spheres, we find that a pattern which is commensurate with the bulk crystal induces complete surface freezing through a cascade of la yering transitions. A rhombic pattern, on the other hand, either generates a crystalline sheet which is unstable as a bulk phase or prohibits surface freezing completely.