Fivefold symmetry as an inhibitor to hard-sphere crystallization

Through molecular simulations we investigate the dynamics of crystallization of hard spheres of uniform size from dense amorphous states and the role that hidden structures in an otherwise disordered medium might have on it. It is shown that short-range order in the form of sites with fivefold symmetry acts as a powerful inhibitor to crystal growth. Fivefold sites not only retard crystallization, but can self-assemble into organized structures that arrest crystallization at high densities or lead to the formation of defects in a crystal. The latter effect can be understood in terms of a random polyhedral model.