  We present a computer simulation study of a (6,12)-Lennard-Jones fluid
confined to a slit pore, formed by two uniform planes. These interact via
(3,9)-Lennard-Jones potential with the fluid particles. When the fluid
approaches the liquid-to-solid transition we first observe layering parallel to
the walls. In order to investigate the nature of the freezing transition we
performed a detailed analysis of the bond-orientational order parameter in the
layers. We found no signs of hexatic order which would indicate a melting
scenario of the Kosterlitz-Thouless type. An analysis of the mean-square
displacement shows that the particles can easily move between the layers,
making the crystallization a 3d-like process. This is consistent with the fact
that we observe a considerable hysteresis in the heating-freezing curves,
showing that the crystallization transition proceeds as an activated process.
