  We revisit the classical problem of a polymer confined in a slit in both of
its static and dynamic aspects. We confirm a number of well known scaling
predictions and analyse their range of validity by means of comprehensive
Molecular Dynamics simulations using a coarse-grained bead-spring model of a
flexible polymer chain.
  The normal and parallel components of the average end-to-end distance, mean
radius of gyration and their distributions, the density profile, the force
exerted on the slit walls, and the local bond orientation characteristics are
obtained in slits of width $D$ = $4 \div 10$ (in units of the bead radius) and
for chain lengths $N=50 \div 300$. We demonstrate that a wide range of static
chain properties in normal direction can be described {\em quantitatively} by
analytic model - independent expressions in perfect agreement with computer
experiment. In particular, the observed profile of confinement-induced bond
orientation, is shown to closely match theory predictions.
  The anisotropy of confinement is found to be manifested most dramatically in
the dynamic behavior of the polymer chain. We examine the relation between
characteristic times for translational diffusion and lateral relaxation. It is
demonstrated that the scaling predictions for lateral and normal relaxation
times are in good agreement with our observations. A novel feature is the
observed coupling of normal and lateral modes with two vastly different
relaxation times. We show that the impact of grafting on lateral relaxation is
equivalent to doubling the chain length.
