Conditions for static friction between flat crystalline surfaces

The conditions for the presence of static friction between two atomically smooth crystalline surfaces are investigated. Commensurate and incommensurate walls are studied. While two commensurate walls always pin at zero lateral force and positive pressures, incommensurate walls only pin if mobile atoms are present in the interface between the surfaces or if the solids are particularly soft. Surprisingly, static friction can be observed between rigid surfaces, either commensurate or incommensurate, that are separated by a freely diffusing fluid layer.