Negative linear compressibility in confined dilatating systems.

The role of a matrix response to a fluid insertion is analyzed in terms of a perturbation theory and Monte Carlo simulations applied to a hard sphere fluid in a slit of fluctuating density-dependent width. It is demonstrated that a coupling of the fluid-slit repulsion, spatial confinement, and the matrix dilatation acts as an effective fluid-fluid attraction, inducing a pseudocritical state with divergent linear compressibility and noncritical density fluctuations. An appropriate combination of the dilatation rate, fluid density, and the slit size leads to the fluid states with negative linear compressibility. It is shown that the switching from positive to negative compressibility is accompanied by an abrupt change in the packing mechanism.