Ground states of ultrasoft particles with attractions: a genetic algorithm approach

We analyse in detail the ground-state structure of model systems of athermal star polymers with an additional, tunable attraction that may result from dispersion or depletion forces. To perform a free, unbiased search in the space spanned by the crystal parameters, we employ genetic algorithms, which are enhanced with respect to previous versions in their ability to find stable structures that occupy very narrow basins of attraction in the energy landscape. Application of this method brings about a very large variety of ground states for star polymers with attractions, in particular for the case of intermediate functionalities and strong, short-range attractive forces.